Home Sweet Mess
by Jayne Leigh
Summary: Marshall has everything he wanted...Engaged to Mary and a son but then a trip home to visit his family does not go according to plan. Not only does his family see a whole new side to him but he discovers fears that he didnt even know Mary had.
1. Chapter 1

**Here's a new story! Please review and let me know what you think! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

Mary glanced at the clocked and sighed. It was almost 9pm and Marshall still was not home. She reached across and checked her cell phone but there no new messages or any missed calls.

The last six months had been a whirlwind since she had given birth to her son, Jackson James after Brandi's cancelled wedding. The night he was born, Mary had watched her partner holding him; she knew she did not want to deny her feelings anymore. In a moment of high emotion and lack of sleep, she told Marshall she was in love with him and had been for a long time but never said anything out of fear she would lose him. She then told him that she was tired of being scared and she wanted to be with him. He had just smiled and leaned across to kiss her softly. Despite her confession, she had been confused and asked about Abigail. Marshall then told her, how after the incident in the courthouse; they had decided to break up.

Since that night, Marshall had moved into Mary's place (neither of them noticing until most of his stuff had made its way there and he started spending very night there.)

Marshall officially adopted Jack (Mark had disappeared straight from the wedding and Mary only spoke to him finalize the paperwork.)

They had got engaged (Mary told him, he would have to marry her because she refused to have a different name to her son…Marshall agreed willing.)

That had happened in the first five month but for the past month; she had begun to worry about Marshall. She was still, reluctantly on maternity for another five weeks and since her time off Marshall's case load had seemed to have double but in the last week, alone it seemed to have tripled. She was worried he was pushing himself to hard. Not only was he working but he made sure he was there for her and Jack too. Even the nights when he had to work late, he would come home for an hour before Jack was put down for the night before going back to the office.

She never thought she would be the type of girlfriend that would care about their boyfriend working too much. She had mostly been relieved when Raphael had to go out of town to play baseball or put in extra hours selling cars because it gave her time to herself that she used to crave so much.

Now she was sick of being alone, she had had enough of that after Brandi moved in with Peter and Jinx found her own place. At first, she had loved it but now she had finally admitted she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Marshall, she wanted to able to do that. Their relationship had not changed much apart from physically and Mary realized just how much of a couple they acted like before but what surprised her was that she wanted more of it. She wanted to talk to him. Wanted to watch movies with him. To share meal times with him. To watch their son grow with him. She also worried that once she returned to work that it would become harder. She was pretty sure that they would not able to be partners like they were before and it was probably a good thing, since they would have to juggle their schedule around taking care of Jack.

Her train of thought was broken by the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"Marshall?" She called out, standing out.

"You were expecting someone else at 9pm?" He answered, coming into view.

"Considering the times you've been coming home the last month, 9pm is early for you." She shot back.

"Yeah, well I discovered a neat trick…if you get injured and they grant you freedom." He quipped, lifting his right arm and she saw blood on his white shirt. He regretted the joke as soon as he saw the concern in her eyes.

"What happened?" She rushed towards him.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." He tried to assured her and he pulled his arm away from her as she rolled up his shirt sleeve.

"Marshall, what happened?" She looked up at him.

"The Martins' eldest been getting into trouble lately, he freaked out tonight after spending all day drinking and getting high." He sighed and let her lead him to the couch. "When Stan and I turned up, he started waving a knife around."

"Jesus…"

"He was getting too close to his Mother with it so I had to disarm him…the knife caught me when I did."

"Let me see."

"Mare, it's nothing…Stan made the paramedics check me out at the scene…" He said but she already had hold of his arm again and was gently pulling off the dressing.

She lightly ran her fingers over the wounded. "God, if it had been a few centimeters to the left he would have hit an artery, he could have killed you."

"Not deep enough." He replied. "Just a scratch, didn't even need stitches."

She continued to stare down at his arm silently and after a few seconds she felt him place a finger under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking at him again.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, just…" She stopped, wondering what to say. _Scared...angry...frustrated...confused...lonely._

"Just what?" He questioned when she paused

She sighed. "Just feeling a little out of the loop, I guess."

"Won't be long until your back causing mayhem in the office." He replied lightly.

"Yeah and you can stop working like a crazy man." She commented. "I thought Stan was getting someone if to help with the load?"

"He did."

"So, why is it that some nights you don't even come home?" She questioned. "Why are you working yourself to near exhaustion?"

He let his head fall back against the couch and sighed. "We've been assigned two temporary wit-sec deputies from Texas to help cover your cases."

"But?" Mary prompted.

"They're both pretty new to witness protection so I've had to help out." Marshall told her. "Delia has been thrown in the deep end too but she's getting there."

"That still doesn't explain why you've been working so much, you always helped me out too." Mary replied and looked at him closely. "What aren't you tell me?"

He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Allison Pearson has given me three top priority cases to handle."

"How top priority?"

"The kind where only Stan and I know the details." He said vaguely.

"What is her problem?" Mary fumed. This wasn't the first time Pearson had chosen Marshall for cases what would not normally cross paths with the Albuquerque office and she would never give an explanation for why.

"I don't know but I spoke to Stan earlier…He's going to talk to a few people and see what he can find out." Marshall closed his eyes. "He thinks she's testing me."

"For what?" Mary frowned.

"I don't know but it needs to stop…I'm pretty much dead on my feet."

She watched him for a few seconds and wondered whether he had actually fallen asleep.

"I don't want to be like my Dad." He mumbled, tiredly.

"What?"

He forced his eyes opened. "I don't want to always to be working…to always put the job first."

"Marshall…"

"I know I shouldn't complain because he did try and I know he loves me but…I want Jack to have better…"

"He will." Mary couldn't help but get lost in his eyes. "We'll make sure of it."

He smiled a little and sighed as his eyes closed again. Mary studied him closely; he really did look like he was nearing breaking point.

"When was the last time you ate?" She questioned.

"I don't know…around two."

"You need to eat."

"Are you going to cook me something?" He asked amused but kept his eyes shut.

"I'll order you something." She corrected.

"Don't bother; I'm going to jump in the shower then head straight to bed." He forced himself to sit up properly and rubbed his eyes.

"Take your shower and I'll make you a sandwich." She told him, getting to her feet but then noticed the look he was giving her. "What?"

"Nothing, just… I don't think you've ever made me a sandwich."

"Are you complaining?"

"No, just stating a fact." A smiled played on his lips. "I kind of like the domesticated side of you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, don't get used to it…I'm only doing it so you don't end up in hospital because you can't stay awake and then I'll have to take care of you even more."

He stopped up and kissed her forehead. "I won't end up in hospital."

"You better not."

"Seriously though, I'm too tired to eat."

She rolled her eyes. "Go shower."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Mary watched him and wasn't surprised that he walked past the bathroom and instead entered Jack's room; she knew he would want to check on him before he did anything else.

She started pulling out the ingredients to make the sandwich five minutes later when she heard the shower running. The phone ringing startled her and scrambled to grab it before it woke Jack. She prayed it wasn't Stan, calling Marshall back to work but if it was, she was going to give him hell for it.

"Hello?"

"Oh…Mary?" The female voice on the other end guessed. "It's Sarah Mann."

Mary had to force herself not to groan; Marshall's Mom.

"Mrs. Mann, hi…How are you?"

"How many times have I told you to call me, Sarah?" She replied. "You're meant to be marrying my son, after all."

Mary sighed and leaned back against the counter. She had not met any of Marshall's family apart from his father and since Marshall had moved in, she had spoken to his mother on the phone a few times. She was pleasant enough but Mary could not shake the feeling the woman did not like her. Marshall had laughed at her and told her, his mom liked everyone and she was over the moon, he had finally found someone to settle down with. It was the comments, like '_you're meant to be marrying' _and _'when you have children together' _that made Mary doubt the woman acceptance.

"Speaking of which, is my son around?" Sarah questioned.

"He's in the shower at the moment."

"Oh, I was hoping to catch him before I went out for dinner." She sighed.

"Is it anything I can help with?" Mary asked, hoping Marshall would not have to return the call later because knowing him; he would force himself to stay awake for another couple of hours so he could do.

"It's nothing, last time I spoke to Marshall he invited his father and I down to visit next week but I don't think we'll be able to get away."

"Oh?" Mary was surprised that she actually felt slightly guilty for being relieved; she had been dreading it since the moment Marshall had mentioned it to her.

"Yes, well Daniel, our eldest Grandson has been getting into a bit of trouble lately…his parents just don't know what to do with him so we agreed it's probably not the best time to leave town…Seth is trying to get through to him not that it seems to be doing any good.." Sarah told her. "I was actually hoping Marshall would have a word with him…Punishing him and getting angry doesn't seem to work so, maybe Marshall's approach will."

"I'm sure, that wouldn't be any trouble." Mary replied. "Should I get him to call you tomorrow about it?"

"Yes, yes, that would be fine," Sarah answered.

Mary only half listened as the other woman carried on talking about the missed vacation and how much she missed Marshall. She tried working out in her head, when the last time Marshall went home for a visit but could not remember. She was about to ask Sarah when the last she saw him was when she got an idea.

"We'll come to you." She cut Sarah off mid-sentence.

"I'm sorry?"

"Marshall, Jackson and I will come to visit you." She told her. "Marshall could do with some time away, I can't remember his last vacation…plus he can talk to Daniel in person."

"Oh, well that would be wonderful." Sarah said, excitedly. "Are you sure it's possible? I know how busy he must be at work."

"I'll talk to our boss, see what I can arrange and Marshall will give you a call tomorrow to finalize the details."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

"Okay, great."

As soon as Mary hung up the phone, she began to regret her decision but then remembered she was doing this for Marshall. He needed a break and would love the chance to see his family. It was time she showed him how committed she was to their relationship by doing this for him. He had always been there for her and her family dramas and there had been a lot of them. From day one of their partnership, he was by her side, supporting her, even when she tried to push him away.

She grabbed the phone again and hit speed dial number two.

"Hello?"

"What the hell is Pearson up to now?" She demeaned.

"Mary?" Stan questioned.

"No, it's the Queen of Sheba…" She rolled her eyes.

"I take it, you've talked to Marshall?"

"I don't need to talk to him to see he's doing too much." She claimed. "Why are you letting her treat him as her personal Wit-Sec Inspector?"

"It may be hard to believe, Mary but I have bosses…and at the top of those bosses is Allison Pearson." Stan replied. "She's taken an interest in Marshall and is putting him to the test to see how good he really is."

"But for what?"

"I've been asking around but no one knows why." Stan replied. "All I've managed to find out is that there's been a lot of talk about him lately with the higher ups…"

"What does that mean?"

"It's possible they're considering him for a promotion…I don't know." Stan sighed.

"Well, he's going to no good to anyone if he carries on like this." Mary claimed. "Can you cover him for a week or so?"

"I think I can arrange something….Why? Is everything okay?"

"Apart from him practically falling asleep on his feet and almost getting stabbed tonight?" Mary leaned back on the counter. "He'll be fine after some time off."

"You're right…"

"So, I'll tell him as of now, he's on vacation?"

"And that I don't want to see or hear from him for two weeks." Stan added.

"You truly are the man, Stan." Mary grinned.

"Just rest up, the both of you…The office is too quiet without you here and your partner misses you."

"Thanks, Stan." Mary said softly. "We'll see you soon."

Mary sighed when she hung the phone; everything was set now all she had to do was tell Marshall.

"Who was on the phone?" Marshall appeared, his hair still wet from the shower.

"Stan." She replied and he groaned, thinking he would have to go back to work. "Don't worry; nothing has happened…I called him."

Marshall looked at her cautiously. "What did you do?"

"Hey! I was being nice." She protested and folded her arms across her chest.

"Uh-huh."

"I was being a nice, caring, loving girlfriend."

"Fiancée." He corrected, putting his arms around her, so she would know he was only teasing. "So, what did you do? Convince Stan to let you come back early? Blackmail him into hiring more staff? Threatened to put a hit out on Allison Pearson?"

"Actually, smartass I got you two weeks' vacation."

"What?" He looked at her in surprise. "How?"

"I talked to Stan." She replied. "And it didn't take a lot…He's been working with you, he can see for himself how much you need a break."

"I get two weeks off?" He questioned. "Two whole weeks? No one is going to call me and ask for help with anything?"

"They will have me to deal with if they try."

"When?"

"Starting from right now…Stan said he didn't want to see or hear from you at all while you're off."

"I can't believe you did this." He grinned widely.

"Well, if I'm not allowed to work then why should you be?"

"What do you want to do?" He questioned. "We could hang out here just the three of us…or we can go on a trip…We could visit Brandi."

After Brandi had taken off during the wedding, she ended up in Colorado. A friend who she attended college with had recently moved there and offered her a place to stay while she got her head together. Marshall knew that Mary was worried about her and missed her. He also knew she was disappointed that her sister hadn't met her nephew yet.

"We already have plans."

"Not only have you got me some vacation time but you've also arranged something for us to do….How long was I in the shower for?"

"Before I spoke to Stan, your mother called about their trip here…"

"Mare, we cannot leave town when my parents are due to come." He told her, half-jokingly but half concerned she was ready to skip town during his parents' visit.

"Something has come up…Something to do with one of your nephews and they can't get away." She explained. "So, I said we would go there."

Marshall stared at her in silence and after a few seconds Mary shifted, uncomfortably.

"What? What is it?" She asked. "Do you not want to go? You could call her and say you couldn't get the time off."

"No, no…It's just…you're willing to go to Phoenix to meet my family?" He asked.

"Yeah, what's the big deal?"

"You never want to meet boyfriends' family and for you to suggest it…"

"Fiancée." She corrected like he did earlier. "And the way I see it, we head down there, I meet your family so it won't be awkward at the wedding, you can straighten out your wayward nephew and we can get back here with time for you spend man time with Jack so I can do normal things like take a bath, watch a movie, shot people…"

"Shot people?"

"The fake people at the shooting range." She shrugged.

"You're amazing." He stated and before she could reply, he pulled her closer to him and kissed her.

When he broke the kiss, she stared at him a little dazed. They had been together officially for the last six months; their relationship had changed and they had done a lot more then kissing but it still stunned her when he did it without warning. She was pretty sure he knew that too and that's why he kept on doing it.

"Where's my sandwich?" He questioned.

"What?"

"My sandwich…You said you were going to make me a sandwich."

Mary shook her head a little to clear it and then glanced down at the bread, ham and lettuce on the counter. "You said you didn't want one."

"Whenever have you ever listened to me before?"

"You said you weren't hungry."

"You said I needed to eat…" He replied. "Besides, I was thinking about it in the shower and got hungry…"

"You said you were too tired to eat."

"Yeah but now I know I've got nowhere to be tomorrow, I've suddenly got a burst of energy."

"Oh really?" She said suggestively and moved closer to him.

"Oh yes…" He grinned back at her. "But after I've had a sandwich…"

"Oh for the love of…" She turned around and grabbed the bread, slapping two slices down on the counter then throwing some ham and lettuce on one piece before slamming the second slice on top. "Here!"

Marshall went to say something but before he could, she shoved the sandwich into his mouth just as they heard Jack crying from his nursery.

"Eat your sandwich while I deal with our son, and then get your ass into the bedroom!" She slapped his butt as she stalked past him.

Marshall just laughed as he watched her go. He could defiantly say that his life had got a whole lot better since he had got together with Mary Shannon.

**TBC**

**Please review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, thanks for the reviews! Glad you liked it! Please keep them coming! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet….Mess**

"So, tell me about your family." Mary said an hour into their drive to Phoenix.

Marshall glanced at her briefly before looking back to the road. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything." She shrugged. "You haven't talked much about them before."

"I've told you about them," he frowned a little.

"Well, yeah…You told me a little about your parents and I know you've got two older brother called Nathan and Christopher who are both married with children and have stayed in Phoenix…After that, I pretty much know nothing."

"Chris is the eldest, he's eight years older than me…and Nathan is a year younger than him." He told her. "They are both in the Marshal Service as well…Chris followed Dad and is with the Fugitive Task Force while Nathan is a Criminal Investigator."

"Are you close with them?"

"When we were younger we were…they were always looking out for me." He replied. "But then I moved away from Phoenix to go to college and only went back home for visits…I guess we drifted apart because of the distance."

"You didn't like Phoenix?"

"I love Phoenix but why stay in one place when there is so much more to see?"

"You've been in Albuquerque for over ten years." She commented. "You thinking of leaving any time soon?"

"I'm older now…I have a family of my own and Albuquerque feels like home." He glanced at her again. "You pretty much spent most of your life in New Jersey…Do you ever considering going back there?"

"I'm happy in Albuquerque."

"Good."

"Anyway, back to your family." She turned the conversation back to him. That was one thing about their relationship she loved; they did not always need to have in depth conversations about their feelings or future plans. If he said he was happy staying in Albuquerque then she trusted that he was telling her the truth.

"Right, so Chris is married to Lucy…They met in college and have two boys, Danny who is 16 and Jake who is 12." Marshall told her. "And Nathan and Helen have four kids, Ashley 14, Michael 13, Sophie 9 and Hannah 6."

"I'm never going to remember all those names."

"You'll get used to it." He assured her.

"And it's Danny that's causing all the trouble?"

"Yep."

"What's he been up to?"

"Apparently, he's got mixed up with a gang…The other day he was caught with marijuana on him at school, he said he was looking after it for a friend but he wouldn't name any names." He sighed.

"He's a teenager, unfortunately some of them make stupid mistake but a lot of them still turn out okay." She placed a hand on his arm. "And I bet with a family history like yours, he won't stay in trouble for long."

"That's the thing…As the eldest, everyone assumes he'll be joining the Marshal Service but it's not what he wants…never has been."

"It'll work out."

"I still can't believe you want to meet my family." He said after a few seconds of silence.

"How bad can it be?"

"Um…"

"Marshall?"

"No, it'll be great!" He said enthusiastically.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing…"

"Marshall!"

"It's just…my brothers are a little…well a lot like my Dad."

"I like your Dad."

"I know you do." He rolled his eyes. "But when there are three of them in one room it can get a little too much."

"It's not like we're going to be working." She reminded him. "If they're annoying the crap out of us we'll just leave."

"I might have to take you up on that offer."

Mary turned and looked out the window. She was surprise to find she was not that nervous of meeting Marshall's family. While she did want to make a good impression and wanted Marshall to have a good time, a part of her still believed his Mother did not like her and there was a big chance the rest of the family would agree with her. She also knew she did not need to worry because if it ever came down to it Marshall would choose her and Jack. She knew it would be the hardest thing he ever need to do and she prayed it would come to it but she knew what he would do.

_**xXxXx**_

When they arrived at his parents' house, Marshall was relieved to see his brothers and their families were not there waiting for them. He loved his family and would do anything for them but with everything that had happened past year, he needed a break. He knew this vacation probably won't be the most relaxing time off so he was hoping tonight they wouldn't be surrounded by everyone asking him all sorts of questions.

"So, are you sure you want to do this?" Marshall looked over to Mary once he had parked in the driveway. "We could keep driving and be on Vegas by midnight."

"Don't tempt me." She replied but then noticed the front door open. "Too late."

Marshall gave his Mother a small wave and took a deep breath. "Well…Here we go."

They had not been through the door five seconds before Sarah Mann started fussing over them. Telling Marshall he looked dreadful and how he needed to take more care of himself. She then shouted to Seth to come him with their bags.

"Mom, its fine…I'm fine…Relax." He said calmly.

"You don't look fine." She told him. "You look like you haven't eaten in a week and had slept even less."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm on vacation now." He replied and then stepped back so he was beside Mary and put his hand around her waist. "Mom, this is Mary."

"It's nice to meet you finally." Mary smiled polity, bouncing Jack a little when he started to whimper, quietly.

"You too, it's taken to long." Sarah shot Marshall another look.

"Mom, I've been busy, you know that." He rolled his eyes.

"Leave him alone, he's a US Marshal…He has a job to do."

"Hi, Dad." Marshall looked past Sarah when Seth entered the hallway.

"Marshall…" He nodded in his direction and then his eyes moved to Mary and Jack.

"You already know, Mary….but you haven't met this little guy yet." Marshall took Jack into his own arms and step closer to his parents. "Mom, Dad this is our son Jackson James Mann."

"He looks like his Mom." Sarah smiled a little and glanced at Mary then turned to go into the kitchen. "Right, I better get dinner start if we ever want to eat tonight."

"I'll help you take your bags up." Seth grabbed hold of one of the suitcases and started up the stairs. "Your brother brought over their portable crib for you to use…"

"That's great." Mary picked up the remaining bag, watching Marshall carefully, knowing he was hurt by his parents' reactions to Jack. "Are you coming?"

Marshall turned from watching the door where his Mother had disappeared to look at her, stood on the bottom step. He held Jack a little tighter before nodding. "Yeah, right behind you."

Seth placed the suitcase down before quickly excusing him and when the door closed behind him, Mary put a hand on his arm. "You okay?"

"Yeah, sure…"

"Marshall…" She moved closer to him, gently running a hand over Jack's hair. "They probably don't know how act."

"I'm their son and Jack is my son." He stated. "They should act like Grandparents…They should know how, they already have six grandchildren."

"Yeah but this is a little different…"

"He's my son, Mare."

"I know, I know…" She said quickly, assuring him. "But it must be confusing for them…Six months ago, you call them and tell them that you're engaged, have a son and living with woman that was not your girlfriend."

"Mare…"

"Just give them time." She cut in. "For once don't worry about me or Jack or anyone else…just try and relax."

"It's my job to worry about you and Jack…always."

"I can take care of myself." She rolled her eyes. "Now stop standing there and start unpacking so we can go get some food…I'm starving!"

He smirked. "I knew your nice mood would not last long."

"You're only saying that because you've got a baby in your arms and know I won't hit you."

"I'm not scared of you." He said challenging.

"Oh really?" She placed her hands on her hips.

He kept his eyes on her as he walked across the room and kissed the top of Jack's head before placing him in the crib. When he turned back to Mary, he held his arms out. "Take your best shot."

"Oh, you're asking for it…" She moved towards him but before she could touch him, he grabbed her hands in one of his and tickled her with the other. "Marshall! Stop!"

"This is your best shot?" He teased.

"You're a dead man." She claimed, managing to elbow him in the stomach causing him to double over but he never loosened his grip.

They both stopped and turned around when they heard giggling.

"Oh that's great! Take his side!" Mary rolled her eyes, seeing Jack watching them happily.

Marshall laughed softly and let go of her hands cautiously. "Truce?"

"For now." She reluctantly agreed.

Marshall watched her silently for a few minutes as she opened the suitcase and started pulling things out.

"Hey, Mare?"

"What?"

"Thanks."

She looked up at him questionable, frowning a little.

"For coming here…" He explained. "I know you don't like doing this kind of stuff and my family do drive me crazy most of the time but they're my family…I love them and it's important to me that they meet the two people who mean the world to me."

"That's me and Jack, right?"

"Yes." He answered with a smirk. He knew that is how Mary reacted when their conversations got too serious but they had gotten better with it.

She shrugged a little. "I guess spending a week here is nothing compared to what you have had to put up with, with my family."

"Yeah, we'll see about that." He commented, walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "But I really appreciate it."

"Are you sure there is nothing you're not telling about your family?" She questioned, leaning back against, allowing him to wrap his arms around her waist.

"No, just what I said about my brothers being like my Dad." He kissed the side of the head. "But you need to remember that they're my family and you don't need to protect me from them."

"What?"

"I'm the little brother…they like to tease me a bit and there are times when they still treat me like some kid that hasn't got a clue what he's doing." He told her. "I know you like to joke around with me but I also know you get protective if you someone else is doing it."

"It's my job to beat you up."

"I know." He grinned. "But just remember they've been doing it since I was a kid."

"Yeah, well as long as they don't cross any lines then I'll try and behave."

"That'll be fun to watch."

"Careful, Doofus…" She said warningly. "I still haven't agreed to that truce of yours."

"Just don't shot anyone…you're still on medical leave so won't be able to claim you were doing your job."

"Yeah, that kind of sucks!" She admitted. "Now get unpacked!"

"Yes, Ma'am."

An hour later, they had unpacked, got themselves and Jack cleaned up and were just about to head back downstairs when they heard the front door open and then close, followed by a lot of different voices.

"I guess my brothers will be joining us for dinner after all." Marshall grabbed Jack out of the crib.

"I don't care as long as there is enough food." She followed him out the room. "Remind me again, which brother is which?"

"Chris is the eldest; married to Lucy with two boys…Nathan is married to Helen, three daughters and one son."

"Okay, got it."

They could hear the sound of children laughing as they walked down the stairs and when they reached the living room, everyone fell silent for about 30 seconds, just staring at them before all hell broke loose again and the kids ran towards them.

"Uncle Marshall!" The youngest girl wrapped her arms around his legs.

"I knew you would come!" The boy claimed.

"Alright, guy back up a bit…" A woman, who Mary was assuming was one of Marshall's sister in laws, said. "Give your uncle room to breathe."

"Its fine, Helen." Marshall gave her a small smile and then looked at the kids again. "Geez, you guys have grown up loads since I last saw you all."

"I'm in first grade now, Uncle Marshall." The girl, who had her arms still around his legs looked up at him.

"Wow! That's great!"

"And I made the swim team." One of the other girls announced.

"Yeah but I'm on the baseball and we won the championship…" The boy interrupted.

"Hey, cut it out…You will all get your chance to catch up with your Uncle."

"Nathan, it's good to see you." Marshall reached a hand out to his brother.

"You too… Glad you had time to make it down here…It's been too long."

"Don't you start…You're sounding like Mom." He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I want you to meet Mary."

"Ah yes…" Nathan gave her a small smile. "I've heard a lot about you."

"I wouldn't believe all of it." Mary glanced at Marshall before shaking his hand.

"That's what they all say." He replied, and then gestured to his wife. "This is my wife Helen and these are our children."

"I'm Hannah and I'm six!" She had finally let go of Marshall's legs and was stood in front of Mary.

"Nice to meet you, Hannah." Mary smiled and took the hand the girl held out to her.

"This is Michael and Sophie." Marshall pointed out. "And I have no idea who this young woman is."

"Uncle Marshall…" The teenage girl rolled her eyes. "You're such a dork."

Marshall put his free arm around her. "When the hell did you get so tall, Ash."

"I haven't grown that much since the last time you saw me."

"It must be those high heel shoes…When did you start wearing high heel shoes?"

"Every girl in my school wears high heel shoes."

"She grew up and become a teenage girl, Marshall…" Helen patted his shoulder. "Its okay, Nathan is struggling with it too."

Before anyone could say anymore, the front door open again and then was slammed shut with a loud bang. A second later, it was opened again.

"Daniel, get back here!"

"Oh good, the fun is about to start." Nathan said sarcastically just as a teenage boy stormed into the room and threw himself onto the couch, ignoring everyone.

"You better start…" Christopher Mann followed him but then stopped when he saw everyone.

"Ah, you are all here, already."

"Hey Chris…"

"Marshall, wow…you actually came!" Chris went to hug his brother but stopped when he noticed the baby in his arms.

"This is Jackson, your nephew."

Chris looked back to Nathan before smiling warily. "Yeah, I heard you adopted him."

"What's adopted mean?" Hannah asked.

"Nothing, honey…I'll tell you later." Helen told her.

"Daniel, aren't you going to say hello your Uncle?" Chris said, changing the subject.

"Hi." He mumbled his eyes transfixed on his cell phone.

"Hey, Danny…how's it going?" Marshall passed Jack over to Mary and walked towards his nephew.

"It's Dan….not Daniel and not Danny…Dan!" He got to his feet and left the room again.

"Sorry about that..." Chris sighed. "Teenage boys…who'd have them."

"Hey!" Michael exclaimed.

"Michael, don't start." Nathan warned.

"I'm a teenage boy and I don't act like that!"

"Michael…"

"I'm just saying."

"Chris, this is Mary…"

"Nice to meet you." He smiled. "Sorry that it's a little crazy around here."

"This is nothing to compare to my family."

"So, where are Lucy and Jake?"

"Out front… They'll be in a minute."

"Uncle Marshall!"

"Jake my man." Marshall turned around just in time to pull his nephew into a hug. "How you doing, Kid?"

"I'm good…Danny is being a jerk though."

"Jacob…"

"Alright, everyone break it up and get to the table…Dinner is about to be served." Seth announced as he entered the room. As soon as the words left his mouth, all the kids turned and ran for the table. Chris, Nathan and Helen followed them at only a slightly slower pace.

"Sarah makes the best lasagna…" Lucy explained the children's quick exit to Mary with a laugh as she took over her jacket. "I'm Lucy, Christopher's wife."

"Mary…and this is Jackson."

"Well, he's just adorable." Lucy grinned at Jack and then looked at Marshall. "It's about time you settled down."

"It's good to see you, Lucy." Marshall kissed her cheek. "What's going on with Danny…Dan?"

"He's just pissed because he wanted to go out tonight." She explained. "Just ignore him."

"And the other stuff?" Marshall questioned. "Is it as serious as Mom says?"

She sighed. "He's in with the wrong crowd…we know they do drugs but I have no idea if Danny does them himself…"

"He's a smart kid."

"I know but he hasn't been himself lately." She replied. "I just don't know what to do with him anymore."

"Come on, let's get some dinner and then we'll work it all out later." Marshall gave her a smile.

"I really appreciate you coming out here…you know Danny really looks up to you."

"It's no problem at all…Happy to help."

Mary was actually starting to feel a little nervous about the dinner. She had felt like an outsider while Marshall caught up with his family and she had noticed the way they had reacted to Jackson. None of them seemed to want to acknowledge him; she hoped they just weren't sure how to act because she had no idea what she would do if they rejected her son.

"You okay?" Marshall whispered as they took their seats at the table.

"Yeah, sure…" She replied, sitting Jack on her lap because there was nowhere else for him to go.

"You want me to take him?"

"No, its fine…I got him."

As soon as the food was placed on the table and everyone started to eat, Mary began to relax a little. It was very noisy as everyone talked loudly to be heard but Mary was happy to just sit there and listen to the story Marshall's brothers were telling about them growing up. By the time they got the dessert, Mary was filling them in on Marshall's Mumbo lessons and origami classes.

"Can I go now?" Dan cut in.

"No, you can stay here." Chris told him. "It won't hurt to spend a little time with your family for once."

"I'm not a kid!" He stood up. "I'll be in college in a few years and you won't be able to tell what to do."

"Well until then and while you're under my roof, you'll do as I say!" Chris got to his feet to.

"We're not under roof…"

"No, but you're under my roof…" Seth joined in. "Now sit down."

"Mom said I could go after I ate freaking dinner!"

"I said we'll discuss it after dinner….and watch your language." Lucy replied.

"You're not going anywhere." Chris added.

"This is so unfair!"

"Come on, Dan… It's been ages since we last talked." Marshall looked up at his nephew. "We can catch up tonight…"

"What's the point?" Dan looked at him. "What do you care?"

"What do you mean? Of course I care."

"Yeah right, whatever." He rolled his eyes.

"Daniel, you're Uncle came all this way…" Lucy started but her son just laughed.

"To what? Save me? Well, I don't need saving…" He stated. "God, they must be desperate if they sent for you."

"Daniel!" Chris shot him a warning look.

"What was it you said Dad? That he isn't really a Marshal anymore…" Dan looked between his father and uncle. "And that he lost his bottle a long time ago, that's why he's hiding out in New Mexico."

"Okay, that's enough!" Mary glared at him. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Mare, its fine." Marshall put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm just telling you what I heard…" Dan shrugged. "Uncle Nathan said all you were, was a security guard with a badge who just ate donuts and drank coffee at the court house all day."

"Just stop!" Chris shouted and Marshall was relieved to see Helen and his Mother, pulling the rest of his nieces and nephews out the room.

"Everyone calm down for a minute…" Marshall stood up and placed himself between Chris and Dan.

"Screw you, man…" Dan replied. "What gives you the right to come back and interfere?"

"You know what, Daniel…I've had enough…just get out." Chris told him.

Dan smirked. "No problem."

No one spoke as he left and for a few minutes the only sound was of Jack starting to fuss, quietly.

"Marshall, about what he said…" Lucy started apologetically.

"Don't worry about." Marshall told her, glancing at his older brothers but neither of them would look at him.

"He must have misunderstood…" She continued.

"Lucy, its fine…don't worry about it." He told her again and reached down to take Jack of Mary. "I'll take him up, he's probably tired."

Mary glared at Chris and Nathan as she got to her feet. "I thought my family was bad."

"Mary, I know how this must look but it's not what it seems." Seth told her.

"Yeah, it never is." She muttered as she left to go and join Marshall.

**TBC**

**Please review! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews! Please keep them coming! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

When Mary entered the bedroom she was sharing with Marshall, she found him pacing around the room, slowly bouncing Jack gently. She was about to say something when he turned to face her and she saw he had his cell phone to his ear.

"Thanks, Stan…I really appreciate it." He said before hanging up and looking at her. "Hey."

"Hey yourself…" She stepped fully into the room. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Marshall, come on." She folded her arms across her chest. "It's okay to angry at them."

"Mare, it's nothing…"

"Your brothers are assholes."

"I warned you how it was going to be." He sighed.

"No, you told me they would tease you not tell their kids you're a coward."

"It's not that simple."

"Oh really? You want to explain why you did not stick up for yourself?"

"Because it doesn't matter…It's easier this way."

"I don't understand." She threw her hands in the air. "You're best Marshal I have ever worked with and you have an incredible service record…They should be proud of you, not running you down."

He sat down on the edge of the bed, settling Jack on his lap. "They just don't know me all that well now…That's more my fault then theirs."

"That still doesn't explain why they think you lost your bottle."

Marshall sighed. "It's no big deal…There was a case I was working on that went south right before I moved to Albuquerque."

Mary sat down beside him. "And they think that is why you moved? Because a case went wrong?"

"Something like that."

Mary was silent for a few seconds, deep in thought. She did not really know a whole lot about Marshall's past. She knew he was with Criminal Investigation in South Dakota before moving to New Mexico and he had told her some stories about some of the stuff he had got up to but he never went into much detail.

"Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Leave South Dakota because of a bad case."

"It wasn't a bad case… we got the guys we were after."

"Then what went wrong?"

"Mare…Do we really have to go through all of this?" He asked.

"Yes because I want to know what made you move to New Mexico."

"There was a college kid, who got sucked into selling drugs for the dealers we were after...We raided his dorm room and he was scared for his life…He pulled a gun and aimed it at his own head..." Marshall told her with a sigh. "The reason why my brothers think I lost my nerve when it came to being a Marshal is because all the reports say he pulled the trigger as I was trying to talk him down."

"He killed himself right in front of you?" Mary stared at him opened mouth.

"That's what the reports say…."

"Wait…" She frowned a little and then glanced back to make she had closed the bedroom door. "You mean he went into Witness Protection?"

"The reports say he killed himself and then two days later we were able to nab one of the biggest drug rings in America." Marshall replied. "After that I was asked if I would consider a transfer to the Albuquerque office and I accepted."

"Your brothers don't know what you really do?"

"Wit-Sec rules."

"Geez, Marshall…There your family not some random people."

"It doesn't matter." He claimed. "There's a reason why no one is meant to know what we do."

"Your Dad knows."

"He figured it out…I guess, he couldn't handle having a son who hid away and did a little bit of digging on my transfer….Plus, his path has crossed with Stan's before and knew what he did."

"So, they really think you just sit around a court house all day?" Mary questioned.

"Yes."

"Doesn't that bother you?" She asked. "I meant what I said earlier, they should be proud of your achievements but they don't even know about them."

"It's easier this way." He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "Anyway, your family doesn't know what you do…They think you work at the court house."

"Yeah, well after the shooting and all the other stuff, I think they realize there might be a little more to my job." She replied. "Which makes it bad when your, US Marshal, brothers can't work out what you do but Jinx and Brandi can…."

"Like I said…We're really not that close anymore."

"I guess….but I still want to kick their asses for the way they spoke about you."

"I'm used to it." Marshall replied, pulling his cell phone back out of his pocket when he got a message alert.

"You're not breaking the 'no working' rule, are you?" She asked. "What's going on?"

"I called Stan…asked if he would put a track on Danny's phone."

"You're going to follow him?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do yet but I know that he's not acting like himself and I don't like the sound of this gang he's hanging around with." Marshall stood up and placed a now sleeping, Jack into the crib.

"I'm going to go talk to Chris and Lucy…See what I can find out." He told her. "You coming?"

"Nah, if it's alright with you, I'm going to stay up here for a bit."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, you need to talk to them to help your nephew…you don't need me punching him in the face because he's being a jerk."

Marshall smirked. "That might actually be fun to watch."

"Get out."

He grinned at her one more time before disappearing through the door. He found his Dad sat with Jake watching TV and the rest of house was quiet.

"Where did everyone go?"

"Nathan and Helen headed home, they said to say goodbye." Seth told him not turning to look at him. "Lucy and your Mother are cleaning up."

"What about Chris?"

"He went for a walk."

"Danny pissed him off." Jake supplied.

"Watch your mouth." Seth told him, his eyes still not moving from the TV screen.

Jake rolled his eyes but did not say anymore and turned back to the TV. Marshall turned and headed towards the kitchen.

"Everything okay?" His mother asked when she saw him.

"Yeah, do you need any help?" He offered.

"No, we're just finishing up." Sarah gave him a small smile.

"Listen, Marshall…about what Danny said…"

"Lucy, honestly, just let it go…it doesn't matter."

"But Chris and Nathan were out of line…they owe you an apology."

"No, it's fine." Marshall tried to assure her. "I understand why they said what they said…there's no need to apologize."

"I just wish you boys would get on like you used to…" Sarah sighed, as she pulled a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with milk. "If you did, maybe we would see you more…"

"Mom, we get along just fine and I'm sorry I don't visit more often but I have a life in Albuquerque…"

"I still hope that one day you'll decide to be move back here." She placed some cookies on a plate.

"Mom…"

"I know, I know…Oh, pay no attention to me." She patted his cheek affectionately before picking up the milk and cookies to take to Jake.

"She just misses you." Lucy told him when they were alone.

"I know but I'm happy in New Mexico."

"Good, I'm glad…" She smiled. "Mary seems nice and Jack is just adorable…It's about time you found the woman for you."

"I found her a long time ago but it wasn't the right time."

"See, how is it possible it taken this long for you to get snapped up? You always say the right things…your considerate, sweet, caring…"

"What do you want?" Marshall cut her off.

"What? I'm just saying…"

"Lucy, come on? How long have I known you?"

"Good point…" She sighed. "I just….don't give up on Danny."

"I won't." He assured her. "He's my nephew and he's a great kid…I would never turn my back on him."

"I know but with everything that Chris and Nathan have said… You've just become a father and you've got a wedding to plan…" She shrugged helpless. "I know you have a lot going on…"

"None of that is going to stop me from helping Danny." He told her.

"It's not just him…its Chris…"

"What about him? Is he okay?"

"It's just getting to him and is really stressing him out…I don't think it's going to take a lot for him to snap." Lucy explained. "I just don't want either Danny or Chris to do something they'll regret."

"It won't get to that…We'll figure this out."

"I hope you're right."

Marshall stayed and talked to her for a little while longer about anything other than Danny. She told him about her job and how well Jake was doing at school and then she asked what plans he and Mary had made about their wedding. It wasn't until then that Marshall realized no one had mentioned his wedding. He was beginning to wonder whether Mary had been right when she said, his mother didn't like her. After Chris had returned and then headed home with Lucy and Jake, Marshall went outside to think.

It was coming up to midnight when Marshall re-entered the bedroom, causing Mary to sit up quickly. "Marshall?"

"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." He whispered, sitting beside it.

"It's okay…" She yawned. "What's going on?"

"I'm going to head out for a bit."

"At midnight?"

"I got a location for Danny…I want to find out what he is up to."

"Marshall, don't go and do something stupid."

"Hey, who are you talking to?"

"You have no back up."

"I'm not going to go in there and drag him out." He rolled his eyes. "I just want to get an idea on what's going on."

"Just…be careful."

"I promise." He gave her a quick kiss before disappearing again.

Mary sighed loudly and fell back against the bed.

**TBC**

**Please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, thanks for the reviews! Please keep them coming! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

Marshall sat in his truck across the street from what looked like an abandoned warehouse, where a party was in full swing. He had been sat there for over two hours and not seen Danny leave so he was pretty sure he was still in there. Marshall knew it was normal for teenagers to go to parties and it was a Friday night but he did not like the look of the crowd that was there. Most of them seemed a lot older then Dan and there was definitely alcohol, probably drugs to but there was nothing he could do other then go in and get Danny. He knew if he did that, his nephew would never forgive him and it would probably make everything worse.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes when his cell phone went off. He was expecting it to be Mary, asking where he was but groaned when he saw Allison Pearson's name flash up on the caller ID.

"Marshall Mann…"

"Good morning, Marshall…I hope this is not a bad time?"

"At 3:20am? Why would you think that's a bad time?"

She laughed lightly. "I sometimes forget that New Mexico is a few hours behind Washington."

"I'm actually not in Albuquerque at the moment, I'm on vacation."

"Oh that's right…Stan did mention it."

"Was there something you needed urgently?" He questioned, wanting to get to the point. He could see a crowd of people leaving the party and wanted to keep an eye on them incase Dan was with them.

"I need a threat assessment done and plan put together in case there is a breach."

"Is there no one else that can do it?"

"It's a high level witness and the plans will need to be simple but good enough to keep everyone safe." She replied. "You're the only one that has the experience and is security approved."

He leaned back against the head rest, wondering how he gotten himself into the position where he could not say no. "Send me the information and I'll get back to you in a few hours."

"You're a life saver, Inspector Mann." Allison said cheerful. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your break."

"Yeah, me to." Marshall muttered as he hung the phone. He knew Mary was not going to be happy about him doing work but it was not like he had a whole lot of choice. He was just about to start up the truck and head home when he spotted Danny, leaving the building with his arm around some girl.

Marshall watched them getting into a car and then followed them, trying to discreet was a lot harder at 3:30am when the streets were deserted. After they pulled into a driveway, they got out and went inside the house. Marshall waited for another 30 minutes but Danny did not reappear. Deciding his nephew probably would be spending what was the left of the night here; Marshall gave up and headed back to his parents' house. If he was lucky, he would be able to do whatever Pearson needed and get some sleep before spending the day catching up with his family.

When he got back to the house, he was careful to not make too much noise. He crept around the bedroom, trying not to wake Mary as he grabbed his laptop. Before he left the room, he heard Jack stirring. It was about this time every morning he would wake up so Marshall leaned down and picked him up.

"Come on, buddy… Why don't we let Mama sleep today?" He whispered and was pleased that Jack didn't cry.

_**XxXxX**_

Mary stretched out an arm to Marshall's side of the bed but only found cold sheets. She sat up a little and looked at the empty pillow beside her, where the sweat pants and t-shirt that Marshall usually slept in were still folded up neatly. Sighing, she turned to grab her cell phone and when she looked at the time, she realized that Jack normally woke up an hour ago. When she looked over to the crib and saw it was empty, her heart stopped for a moment. She kicked the sheets off, of her and ran out the room. She flew down the stairs as fast as she could and flung the living room door opened with it hitting the wall with a loud bang.

Marshall woke immediately with a start, jostling Jack, who had been fast asleep on his chest.

"You idiot!" She glared at him. "I woke up and he wasn't there..."

Marshall rubbed his eyes and stood up, bouncing a now crying Jack. "I'm sorry, when I got back he was awake…I figure one of us should have a full night sleep."

Mary softened slightly at his words and felt bad for scaring him. As her heart rate started to return to normal, she noticed the laptop on the coffee table. "What's with the computer?"

"Allison wanted me look over some stuff…"

"Marshall…"

"I know Mare but it was important and there was no one else who could handle it." He replied. "It doesn't matter now, it's all done."

"What's going on?" Seth entered the room with Sarah right behind him. "What's all the noise about?"

"It's nothing, Dad…Sorry if we woke you." Marshall looked at him, handing Jack to Mary.

"I'll put on some coffee." He grumbled before disappearing again.

"Sorry, Mare…" Marshall watched as she rocked Jack who had quieted down. "I didn't think you would wake up and worry."

She sighed. "I probably overacted…"

"I gave him a bottle but he only had half…He'll probably be hungry again soon."

She nodded, looking down at her son for a few seconds before up at him. "It's only 6:30…why don't you go up to bed for a few hours."

"You know, I think I'm going to go for a run…" He stretched his arms out, trying to loosen up his muscles. "Clear my head."

"Marshall, you look shattered."

"I'll be fine after a run, a shower and some coffee." He replied. "Then I promised to take Jake to the park to play catch…You up for it?"

"Only if you promise to get some rest afterwards." She said.

She didn't want to nag but there was no way he could carry on like this.

"Sure, I have nothing planned." He shrugged. "We'll just hang out…me, you and Jack."

"Sounds good." She agreed. "Oh, hey did you find Danny, last night?"

"Yeah, he just went to a party…no big deal."

Mary watched him leave the room and she knew he just lied to her but she had no idea why.

_**xXxXx**_

Despite not having lived in Phoenix since he was 18 years old and he did not visit that often, Marshall still knew the area pretty well. He ran for over an hour, pushing himself harder and harder, trying to get everything organized in his head.

He thought about Danny; wondering just how much trouble his nephew was actually in. How at one time, he adored not only his father but his Grandfather. Now he only clashed with the two of them.

Marshall thought back to when he was Danny ages. How Chris was a US Marshal and Nathan was in training. Everyone assumed Marshall would sign up to and he hated how his future was planned out for him. He remembered one night he blew up at his dad, telling him his worst nightmare would be to join the USMS. He had not meant it but because everyone was telling him what to do, he wanted to do anything but it. He knew that night was one of the reason his family has had trouble accepting that he loves his job.

His mind moved onto Allison and what Stan had said about her testing him. He always wanted to better himself, always wanted to learn something new and push himself to achieve great things but he was happy where he was. He didn't care about promotions or high levels cases and he knew he would have to talk to Stan when he got back; let him know he did not want to go anywhere.

How could he leave Albuquerque now he had everything he wanted? Mary and he had created a good life in the short time they had been a good. It didn't matter to him that they had only been together only six months, he knew it was right and that he could happily spend his life with her, regardless of where he lived or what career he had.

When he reached the house again, he sat down on the front step, trying to catch his breath. His muscles still ached and he had a pounding headache, which he knew was from lack of sleep. He had no idea why he suddenly had problem sleeping. It had started about four months ago but at the time he had just put it down to all the changes that had been happening but it was not getting any better. He would only sleep for two hours at a time and if it were any longer, he would have nightmares. He could never remember what they were about but he always woke up shaking and out of breath. He knew Mary did not know about the bad dreams or she would be on his case about it. He just hoped it would go away after everything settled down because he didn't think he could take much more.

_**xXxXx**_

Marshall led Mary into Chris' and Lucy's house, wincing at the volume level of the music that was coming from upstairs.

"I didn't know you turned this place into a nightclub." He said when they found Lucy in the kitchen.

"Very funny…" She rolled her eyes. "Danny came home and Chris and he had a run in...He hasn't come out of his room since."

"What was the argument about?"

"About Danny staying out all night, again." She sighed. "We have no idea where he is or what he's doing."

Mary watched Marshall closely, noticing him shifting uneasy. She knew he knew what exactly Danny was doing.

"Where's Chris now?"

"He went to work about an hour ago."

"Do you mind if I go talk to Danny?"

"Go ahead but I doubt he'll let you in." She replied then looked at Mary. "I'm just making some coffee, if you would like some."

"That would be great." She smiled a little and then she gave Marshall a look, telling him she knew there was something going on but he just glanced back innocently.

"Uncle Marshall!" Jake grinned as he passed him on the stairs. "Are we still going to the park?"

"Yeah, of course we are…I just want a word with Danny first."

"Do you think he'll come?" Jake asked hopefully.

"I don't know, he might…I'll ask him"

"That would be so cool!"

"Yeah, it would be." Marshall smiled a little. He remember how he used idolize his big brothers. "Why don't you get ready and I'll be down soon."

"Okay!"

Marshall watched him sprint off before carrying on up the stairs. He knocked on Danny's door twice but when he got answer, he pushed it open slowly.

Danny spun around quickly in his chair to glare at whoever entered but was surprised to his uncle.

"You got a minute?" Marshall asked.

"Oh sure…" He reached across and shut the music off. "If this is about what I said yesterday…I'm sorry…"

"Forget it." Marshall told him. "I just want to catch up."

Danny rolled his eyes. "To check up on me more like."

"Well, yeah…you're my nephew and everyone is worried about you." Marshall replied, sitting down on the bed. "I just want to know what's going on."

"There's nothing going on…There's nothing to worry about."

"What about these new guys you're hanging out with?"

"Just some people I know…They're my friends." He shrugged.

"They're not good friends if they're getting you into trouble."

"They're not…"

"What about the drugs at school then? You do realize you could have had it on your record if it wasn't for your Grandfather pulling some strings."

"I never asked him to…" Danny got to his feet, defensively. "And it wasn't my friends' fault…I offered to look after it…it's no big deal, just a bit of weed."

"Yeah, that's how it starts…"

"I can't believe you came here to lecture me."

"Dan, I came here to make sure you're okay." Marshall told him softly. "I'm worried you're going to get caught up in something bigger than a bit of weed."

"I can take care of myself." He said confidently.

"You know, we all just want to help." Marshall reminded him.

"I know…" Danny looked down. "But it's fine…I'm not a kid no more."

"I guess you're not." Marshall sighed, it seemed like it was just last week when he was in the backyard, helping Chris teach Dan about baseball when he was three years old. He prayed Jack did not grow up that fast.

"Can you tell my father that?" Danny asked. "Because he still treats me like a kid… just because I stayed at a friend's house last night…"

"Was it a guy friend or a girl friend?" Marshall asked even though he knew the answer but it was an easy way to start the conversation.

Danny did not say anything but the look on his face gave him away.

"You're using protection, right?" Marshall asked. "You do not want to become a Dad at your age."

"Jeez, yes…" The teenager turned red in embarrassment. "Do we have to have this conversation?"

"As long as you promise me to be careful, I won't say another word about it."

"I promise I always am."

"Okay good." Marshall stood up. "Mary and I are taking Jake to play some catch if you want to join us."

"Nah…"

"Come on, it'll be fun…Besides, Mary used to date a baseball player, so I need you guys to help me look good."

Danny laughed. "Sorry, man…I got plans."

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where we'll be."

"Hey, Uncle Marshall?" Danny said before he closed the door.

"Yeah?"

"I really am sorry about what I said last night….I didn't mean it." He told him. "Jackson is lucky to have you…You'll make a great Dad."

Marshall smiled. "Thanks, Dan…I appreciate that."

_**XxXxX**_

"What do you think about an April wedding?" Marshall asked, causing Mary to sit up.

They were led in bed watching a movie, she was hoping that Marshall would be able to get some sleep after all the running around he had done with Jake at the park earlier.

"I didn't think you were awake."

"Can't sleep." HE replied. "Anyway, April…five months from now should give us plenty of time to plan everything."

"I don't really care when we get married." She replied. "And I don't want anything fancy."

"Just our family and closest friends?"

"Hell, I don't even care if they come."

Marshall laughed lightly. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"You don't have to wear a dress."

"I could if you want me to." He replied, jokingly.

"Don't even think about it." She warned. "Anyway, stop thinking about that now…you said you wanted a nap before your family turned up for dinner."

"I guess I'm not as tired as I thought."

"Marshall, why do you keep lying to me?"

"What?"

"I know you…I know when there is something on your mind…it's probably what's keeping you from sleeping." She replied. "Is it Danny? Where was he really last night?"

"I told you…at a party."

"But?"

"Nothing…just, I didn't like the look of the place or the people…There was a lot of drinking going on and probably drugs too."

She sighed. "What did you do?"

"Nothing, I waited until he left and followed him and his girlfriend back to her place."

"Girlfriend?"

"Well, I'm guessing she's his girlfriend."

"What are you going to do now?"

"There's not a lot I can do…I tried to talk to him today but I don't think it did much good." He ran a hand down his face. "I guess all I can do is to keep an eye on him."

"And when we go home?"

"I don't know, Mare…" He sighed. "I have no idea."

_**xXxXx**_

After their talk, Marshall had managed to get a little bit of sleep and it did make him feel better until Chris and Lucy turned up with only Jake. Lucy had told him, Chris and Danny had another fight over Danny's refusal to come to dinner because there was somewhere urgent he needed to be.

So when Sarah had said someone needed to go and pick up the dessert, Marshall offered to go. It would give him a chance to drive by that warehouse and check up on Danny.

When he got there, he saw his nephew stood outside with two other boys. They were just talking and Marshall was about to get his cell phone out to call Danny and tell him to meet him but then he noticed a car pulling up.

Marshall watched closely as the driver of the black sports car raised his hand and Danny jogged over to him. They talked for a few minutes then the driver passed something wrapped up to Danny before speeding off. Marshall frowned a little but as Danny shoved the objected into his bag, the cloth covering it fell away and Marshall caught a glimpse of the metal of a gun.

"What the hell are you doing, Danny!" He muttered to himself as he watched the teenager, returned to his friends.

**Please review and let me know what you think! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for all the reviews! Please keep them coming! This chapter is a lot longer than the others and includes some badass lawman…so I hope you like it! Let me know!**

**Enjoy!**

**Home Sweet…Mess**

Marshall watched as Danny said goodbye to his friends and he started the truck, following him down the road. Once they turned to the corner and was out of sight, Marshall increased the speed so he could drive along his nephew.

"Danny." He rolled down the window, leaned across the passenger's seat. "Get in."

"Uncle Marshall." Danny frowned, stopping. "What are you doing here?"

"Get in the truck." Marshall pulled over.

"Did you follow me?"

"You got ten seconds to get in before I get out and put you in myself."

Danny opened his mouth to reply but decided against it when he saw the look in his uncle's eyes. He had never seen Marshall look like that before. He pulled open the door and got in, slamming it closed. He folded his arms across his chest and glared out the window.

"I can't believe you followed me." He muttered.

Marshall did not reply he was too angry to say anything. Danny was a smart kid but Marshall could not believe how much he had changed since he last saw him.

"Where are we going?" Danny asked once he realized they were going in the opposite direction to his house or his Grandparents'.

Marshall still stayed silent. He had helped lots of teenagers in similar situations to Danny's except by the time he was involved, they had normally lost the lives they had known and had to start a fresh. How was he meant to get through to Danny so he truly understood how serious this was getting?

"Come on, man…you're freaking me out here." Danny turned to face Marshall fully. "What's going on? Has something happened?"

Marshall turned off the road, down a small lane which led to some woodland. He used to come here all the time with his friends when he was high school; it was the only place where none of his family was ever able to find him.

"Uncle Marshall…"

"Get out." Marshall told him once he parked up. He opened his own door and got out, walking to the front of the car.

Danny sighed and followed him. "What are we doing here?"

Marshall pulled his gun from it holster and held it out to his nephew.

"What?" Danny frowned, looking at it before back up at him.

"Take it…" Marshall told him. "Take a shot."

"I don't…" Danny stuttered, confused. "Why?"

"You want to be an adult, play grown up games and carry a gun then better damn well know how to shot it properly."

"You're not making any sense." Danny shook his head.

"I saw you!" Marshall exclaimed. "I saw that car pull up and that guy give you that gun."

"No, you're wrong…Why would I need a gun."

"You tell me, Danny." Marshall stared at him for a few seconds, waiting for an answer.

Danny stared back at him but could not hold it. His gaze dropped down to his shoes unsure what to do next.

Marshall sighed and put his gun away again. "Danny…Do you realize how dangerous it is to carry a gun around?"

"I'm not stupid…" He looked up to glare at him. "I wouldn't play around with it."

"No but do you know what kind of reaction you would get from people if they knew you were carrying?" Marshall questioned. "You're just inviting people to pull their own guns on you."

"I'm just looking after it for a friend…"

"You shouldn't be friends with people who are involved in drugs or guns!"

"You don't get it!" Danny shot back, frustratedly. "None of you understand!"

"Then trying talking to me!" Marshall told him. "Tell me what I don't understand because all I know at the moment is that gun could have been used for anything and if the police find you with it, you would get blamed for that crime!"

"No, that wouldn't happen." Danny insisted. "Jase wouldn't let that happen… He looks out for his guys."

"Jase? The guy in the car."

"Look, Uncle Marshall I know you probably mean well but…"

"Screw meaning well, Danny…I'm a US Marshal…I have every right to cuff you and charge you with possession of a firearm!"

"It's not a big deal!"

"It is a big deal!" Marshall raised his voice. "God, Danny…Do you want to get killed?"

"I can handle it!"

Marshall turned and walked a few paces away. When he turned back around, he got a good look at Danny. The teenager was trying to look tough, like he knew what he was doing but his eyes gave him away. Marshall could still see the little boy whose heart was broken because cat ran away when he was six.

"Danny, listen to me… This is serious!" Marshall told him. "You need to talk to me…You need to let me help you."

"Uncle Marshall…I got to do this…Just this one time and then I'll talk to Jase…Tell him I can't do any of that stuff anymore." Danny replied. "Just let me do this."

Marshall shook his head. "If you had any idea what it was like to get shot…"

"I would be careful."

"And if you have to shoot someone? Do you really think you could live the rest of your life knowing you killed someone?" Marshall questioned. "Do you have any idea how hard it would be for you? Not just you conscience but spending years in prison…putting your parents through all that…"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that would kind of wreak the whole history of Marshals…"

"Hey, don't do that!" Marshall cut him off sharply. "It's okay if you don't want to do it yourself but don't diminish the great work of five generations."

"I'm sorry…" Danny sighed and ran a hand over his hair.

"I know you've been having a rough time lately, that you're clashing with your father but don't blow the rest of your life on one dumb mistake." Marshall told him. "You used to be an A grade student and now you barely turn up…A one point, you were Jake's hero…You really want him following in your footsteps?"

"I wouldn't let Jake get mixed up in this kind of stuff."

"Why do you think it is okay for you to be mixed up in it then?" Marshall asked.

"I haven't got a choice!"

"You have! We always have choices…"

"You don't get it!" Danny threw his hands in the air. "If I don't go through with this then he'll kill me."

"Let me help you." Marshall pleaded. "I promise you nothing will happen to you."

His nephew shook his head slightly. "Jase never lets anyone get away with backing out on a deal."

"What deal?" Marshall questioned and he could see Danny mentally debating with himself whether to tell him or not. "Danny, what deal?"

"He's got some big deal going down…Cocaine mainly." Danny admitted. "He wants me and three others to go with him to finalize the deal."

"What does that involve?"

"He said I didn't need to do anything…Just keep a look out." Danny replied. "But he said to take the gun just in case….I don't want to shoot anyone, Uncle Marshall…I don't want to be a murder!"

Marshall's heart broke a little when he saw the fear and tears in the teenager eyes. He stepped forward and pulled his nephew into his arms. "You have to tell me what you know… You have to give him up."

"No, no…he'll kill me!" Danny jumped back.

"He won't."

"Uncle Marshall, please…"

"Danny, I promise you…I won't let anything happen to you." Marshall told him. "Neither will your Dad…"

"You can't tell him! He'll hate me."

"No, he will want to help you." Marshall insisted. "Your Dad is a good guy and he loves you and Jake more than anything in world…there is nothing he wouldn't do for you…."

"Before….Maybe but now…"

"I know lately, the two of you haven't been getting on but it's only because he doesn't know what's going on…He think he is losing you and doesn't know what to do." Marshall told him. "But trust me; he will be there for you. He will protect you and want to help you…He wants his son back."

"You really think so?"

"I do." Marshall nodded. "But you got to be honest with me, Danny…You got to tell me truth."

"Yeah, okay…"

"The gun, have you ever seen it before?"

"No."

"Have you ever touched?"

"No."

"You're positive?" Marshall asked. "Because we're going to hand it over and if they find your fingerprints on there, then we will need to explain why."

"I swear to you, today is the first time…and I kept the cloth around it."

"Okay…This Jase…Do you know his full name?"

"Jason Collins…he's runs the gang that hang out by my school….he runs the whole area." Danny explained. "He deals drugs to kids at my school and lends out money….If anyone can't repay on time, than he sends some guys with baseball bats to collect."

"How involved are you in all of this?" Marshall sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"I haven't done anything yet…I've just been hanging out with them but Jase wants me to do more, wants me to be in on the drug deals with them."

Marshall leaned back against the hood on his truck, trying to work out the best way to handle this. He felt his cell vibrate in his pocket for the third time and he knew his family were probably wondering where he was.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do….We are going to have dinner with everyone else and then tomorrow, we'll sit down with your Dad, Mom, probably Grandpa too and tell them everything."

Danny looked down but did not protest.

"I've got a friend working in the local drug squad…I'll give him a call."

"Then what?"

Marshall shrugged. "Then you tell them everything you know so they can bust Jase.

"What if it doesn't work?"

"Don't think about that…" Marshall told him. "Just tell the truth and let us worried about the rest."

"I'm sorry, you got dragged into this, Uncle Marshall…"

"Come on, we better get back before they send out a search party." Marshall pushed himself away from the truck.

Danny climbed back into the passengers silently. Marshall kept glancing across at him but did not say anything. He knew it would be hard for Danny to be honest with the rest of the family but he was determined to help his nephew through it. His brother was like his Dad and there was a good chance his first reaction might be anger but he knew Chris would be there for his son.

_**XxXxX**_

Mary was going to kill Marshall whenever he decided to return. Not only did he leave her alone with his family to go and collect the dessert but no one had heard from him in over an hour and a half. His family assumed him had run into an old friend and lost track of time but Mary had a feeling there was more to it.

After trying to call his cell phone for the third time, she sighed and dropped down onto the bed. She hoped whatever trouble Danny was getting into was going to be dealt with soon because she knew Marshall was at breaking point. This was meant to be a break away from all the stress of work but it was turning into the vacation from hell. She knew he was worried about his nephew and would stop at nothing to help him but Mary was worried it was all too much.

She knew he wasn't sleeping well lately and was over doing it at work. This was her chance to help him, like he had helped her over the years. He had to rest up and deal with whatever was on his mind before they returned to Albuquerque because she had a feeling, Allison Pearson was not going to let up on whatever she planned.

She grabbed her cell phone again and dialed Stan's number. She needed to talk to someone and she still felt like an outsider with Marshall's family.

"Inspector did I or did I not tell you I didn't want to hear from either you or your partner for two weeks?" Stan said, answering the fine.

"Tell that to Pearson." Mary replied. "Did you know she called Marshall and had him doing work this morning?"

"I know nothing about that." Stan sighed.

"Did you have any luck in finding out what she's up to?"

"My sources tell me that she has him in mind for a position with an elite task force that deals with the highest level security witness and fugitives." Stan told her. "They're interested in Marshall because of how quickly he put together an escape plan regardless if it needs to be simple or complicated and also because of his skills at doing risk assessments."

"So, she wants him to join this team?" Mary questioned. "Where is it based?"

"There's no base…It would mean travelling the country, plus overseas as well." Stan answered. "But they're not looking at him just joining the team…they're considering him to run it."

"What?"

"He would skip a couple of rungs in the promotion ladder too. "

"Oh wow…" Mary whispered. She was torn between feeling proud of her partner and scared that he would leave.

"Mary…They haven't offered it to him yet…and he hasn't said yes."

"It sounds like something he would love…" Mary replied. "We both know the reason our office has one of the highest success rates is because of that insane mind of his that comes up with ideas and plans that no one else can….We both know that he lives for that kind of thing…"

"Look, just forget about it all for now…try and enjoy the rest of your vacation…" Stan told her. "I'll give Allison a call; see if I can get her to back off until you're back."

"I would appreciate that, Stan…There's a lot going on here and Marshall doesn't need anything else."

"Is his nephew still acting up?"

"Yeah, so it's not the relaxing break I intended on."

"Well, tell him if there is anything I can do to help…"

"Thanks, Stan."

"I'll see you when you're back."

A few seconds after she had hung up the phone, it rang and saw Marshall's flash up on the caller's ID.

"You are so dead." She answered.

"Hello to you too, dear…" He replied sickly, sweet. "Problem?"

"You left me with your family and disappeared for nearly two hours!"

"Sorry about that something came up…"

"What?"

"Nothing, we'll talk later…" He said cryptically. "Where are you?"

"Hiding in the bedroom, pretending I'm putting Jack down for his nap." She replied, walking over the crib, where their son had been sleeping for the past 45 minutes.

"Has everyone eaten?"

"No, your Mother insisted we all wait until you got back." She told him. "The kids are getting restless..."

"Tell them I'll be ten minutes."

"The dessert better to worth it." She muttered.

"I got chocolate pie."

"Okay, you're semi forgiven."

"See you in a few."

She sighed and headed for the door. She could hear the children arguing from the top of the stairs. Marshall was going to owe her big time for leaving her to cope with this alone. She decided to avoid the living room, where most of the noise was coming from and opted for the kitchen where she found Sarah, Lucy and Jake.

"Can't I just have a candy bar?" Jake whined.

"You'll spoil your dinner." Lucy replied.

"I just spoke to Marshall…He said he'll be ten minutes." Mary informed them, moving to lean against the counter.

"Well, I'll better get to work then." Sarah announced, opening the fridge door.

"You haven't evens started yet?" Jake stared at her.

"Jake, quit it…You can't be that hungry…" Lucy rolled her eyes.

"It won't be long, sweetheart." Sarah ruffled his hair as she passed him. "I just need to do the vegetables."

"Jake, your cousins are putting on a DVD." Chris told him, entered the kitchen and heading straight for the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water. "Why don't you stop bugging everyone and go watch."

"Fine." He sighed loudly.

"Marshall is on his way back." Sarah looked over at Chris. "Dinner won't be long."

He shrugged. "The kids are just bored… No rush."

"Did he say what took him so long?" Lucy asked Mary.

"No, just that something came up."

"No changed there then..." Chris added. "He always did use to disappear for hours, when he was a teenager."

"I always suspected he had a girlfriend that he was hiding…" Sarah replied, as chopped some carrots.

"Well, I think we can rule that out for now since his girlfriend is sat here." Chris gestured to Mary.

"Fiancée." Mary corrected.

"What?"

"Sorry, force of habit." She replied, realizing that it was first time one of Marshall's relatives had referred to her as something other than his partner.

"Right…Well, I'm going to check on the kids…Make sure Dad isn't teaching them something he shouldn't be….again."

"Have you made any wedding plans?" Lucy asked Mary once he had left.

"No, we've been too busy with Jack and everything…"

"Well, you haven't been together that long…" Sarah supplied.

Lucy glanced between the two women, cautiously, waiting to see what kind of reply she got but the sound of the front door opening and closing save them.

"Sorry, it took so long." Marshall appeared, placing a pie box on the counter.

"Hey…" Danny said, following Marshall. "Grandma, is there enough for me to come to dinner too?"

Sarah grinned widely. "Of course, Darling…"

"Hey Mom..." Danny turned to Lucy. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"It should be your father that you're saying sorry to…"

"I know and I will." Danny replied.

"Uncle Marshall is here! Can we eat now?" Jake ran into the room.

"Jacob, I told you to be patient!" Chris said as he came in right behind him but stopped in the doorway when he saw his eldest son.

"Sorry, buddy… It's my fault." Marshall looked at Jake.

"It won't be long now." Sarah added.

"Jake, what do you say we go out and play a little basketball until dinner?" Danny suggested.

"Seriously?" Jake asked before turning to his mother.

"Why not?" She shrugged. "But only till dinner."

"Cool!"

"What going on?" Nathan asked as he the others joined them. "Hey, Danny…when did you get here?"

"Uncle Marshal gave me a ride." He glanced at Marshall before looking over at his cousin. "Jake and I are playing basketball, if you guys are interested."

"I'm in." Michael replied straight away.

"Sure, why not…I'll show you boys how it's done." Ashley grinned.

"Dad can be with Ash and I…" Michael added.

"And me!" Sophie spoke up.

"What, no fair!" Jake protested. "Four against two!"

"I don't know, Jake…I think you, me and Dad, could take them…" Danny cut in before an argument could break out between his brother and cousin. "Right, Dad?"

Chris was still trying to get over the surprise of Danny actually being there, let alone willing participating in a family activity.

"Yeah, come on, Dad!" Jake grinned.

"Of course, we can take them." Chris announced.

"Yeah right," Nathan smirked. "You're going down, old man…"

"You're a year younger, idiot."

"Alright, boys…take it outside!" Helen told them pushing towards the door.

"Come on, kids…"

"Grandpa and I can referee!" Hannah announced, following them out to the backyard, pulling Seth by the hand with her.

"When did I get involved in this?" He protested halfheartedly.

"Come on, Grandpa, you got to help me…I can't referee on my own…I'm only six!"

Marshall laughed lightly and reached across to steal a piece of raw carrot. When he looked up he noticed the woman staring at him.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"Marshall…What did you…? How did you get him here?" Lucy questioned.

"I just have him a ride."

"Marshall." She looked at him in disbelief.

"I'll be right back." He avoided her look and went out into the backyard. He paused for a moment, watching the game taking place. He just hoped it would stay like this once everything was dealt with. "Hey, Dad…Can I talk to you for a minute."

Marshall noticed Danny freeze and looked over at him, questionable. He shook his head slightly, letting his nephew know it wasn't going to tell him anything.

"What's up?" Seth asked.

"Do you still have that safe in your office?" He asked.

"Yes, why?"

"There's something I need to lock away."

"What?"

"I can't tell you…"

"Marshall, what's going on? Is it something to do with Danny?"

"Dad, please just let me handle this…Can you just let it go for tonight so we can a nice family meal and a decent night sleep before it all kicks off."

Seth studied him for a few seconds before sighing. "Fine, you know where it is…the code is your Mother's date of birth."

"Thanks."

Marshall walked around the side of the house and got into his truck before pulling his cell phone out. He had known Detective Craig Timmons since they worked on a case together just after Marshall had finished his training, they had bonded over the fact they were both from Phoenix. They had not spoken in years but Marshall knew Craig had move back here and was working with the drugs squad.

Marshall explained the situation to him and Craig told him, they already knew about Jason Collins but had never been able to find enough evidence to charge him with anything. Marshall found a little bit more about the gang and how they were suspected on several assaults and a murder of a teenage boy last summer. He was relieved to hear that Danny wasn't a person of interest yet but knew there was a good chance he would be if they did not do something soon.

He arranged to bring Danny to meet with Craig the next morning, so it would give them chance to bring everyone else to speed.

"Marshall… A bit of warning…this Collins guy is a nasty piece of work." Craig told him. "He's trying to make a name for himself and he doesn't care what he has to do to make it happen…Keep your nephew away from, especially if he suspects Danny has been talking."

"Will do…Thanks, Craig."

"Hey, if you help me nail this guy, it'll be me thanking you."

"Just get the guy and we'll call it even."

"Deal."

Marshall grabbed the gun from the bag Danny had left in the car and went back inside. He headed straight upstairs to his Dad's safe and locked it away. That was where Mary found him.

"You keep disappearing on me…" She leaned against the doorframe, startling him. "I'm going to start suspecting you're up to something …"

"Sorry, I just had to take care of something."

"Danny?" She stepped fully into the room. "You want to talk about it."

"He had a gun, Mare…"

"What?"

"I saw this guy…the gang leader give him a gun earlier…He's just 16 years old and he's getting mixed up with drugs and guns!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I talked to him… he told me everything that's been going on and I think I got through to him this time… He agreed to give a statement about it all."

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah, I just hope it's just that simple."

She stepped closer to him, sliding her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer and rested his cheek on the top of her head. She leaned back a little and leaned up to place a soft kiss on his lips. He brought his hand up to brush her hair out of her face as he deepened the kiss. Mary moaned quietly, moving closer to him, pushing back so he sat on the desk.

They both jumped apart when they heard someone clear their throat.

"When you're finished, dinner is ready." Seth told them, smirking slightly before turning and walking away.

"Well, that's embarrassing…." Marshall muttered.

Mary rolled her eyes. "You've never been caught making out with your girlfriend before?"

"Not on top of my father's desk, no."

"Come on," she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the door. "Everyone has waited long enough to eat."

The basketball game had put everyone is a good mood and when Mary and Marshall joined them at the table, there was no arguments or complaining, just laughter and teasing.

Marshall kept an eye on Danny throughout the meal, despite his nephew efforts; he could still see the fear in his eyes.

Once the dinner was over and everyone was about to head home, Marshall took Danny aside.

"I spoke to my friend…" Marshall said quietly, glancing around making sure no one was listening. "He gave me some information about Collins… You're doing a right thing by turning him in."

Danny swallowed nervously. "What if he gets away? He'll come after me."

"We'll make sure that won't happen." Marshall assured him.

"Okay."

"Danny, let's go!" Chris shouted from the other room.

"I'll see you tomorrow…Everyone is come here for breakfast so we'll go over everything then." Marshall told him. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Thanks, Uncle Marshall."

_**xXxXx**_

Marshall wasn't sure what woke him; he glanced at the clock and saw it was a little after 2am. He sat up and Mary mumbled something and rolled away from him, staying asleep. He carefully got out of bed and crossed the room the check to see if Jack was awake but found his son fast asleep.

Deciding his mind was just playing tricks, he was about get back into bed when he heard, the front door shutting. He pulled back the curtains and looked out in time to see Danny jogging across the front yard and climbing into the black sports car, Marshall had seen earlier.

"What the…" Marshall frowned, wondering what his nephew was up to and why he would have come over here in the middle of the night. Then it suddenly hit him. The gun. "Crap!"

He raced out the room and down to his father's office. When he got there he found the safe open and the gun gone. Danny must have over heard his conversation with his Dad. Marshall slammed his hand down onto the desk, hard and when looked down, he saw there was a piece with Danny's handwriting on it.

_I'm sorry…I can't do it…he said he'll go after Jake if I didn't go. _

Marshall screwed the note up and went back into the bedroom, where Mary was now sat up, looking confused.

"What's going on?" She asked, watching Marshall getting dressed.

"Danny took the gun."

"What?"

"I just saw him getting into Collins' car and the gun is gone." He explained. "I need to find him."

"No, Marshall, call someone…" Mary climbed out of bed and grabbed his arm. "Don't play Rambo."

"Mare, if they know he talked then they'll kill him."

"If you go charging in there, they'll kill you!"

"I'll be fine….I'm just going to go down there to get Danny before anything happens." He kissed the top of her head.

"I'm coming…"

"No."

"Marshall…"

"Mary, you're still on medical leave and you have to stay with Jack…"

"Wake your parents and they can…"

"Please, just trust me…I know what I'm doing."

"You better…" She glared at him slightly "I swear to God, Marshall…if you get hurt…"

"I'll be fine." He kissed her again, leaving quickly before she could say anymore.

Mary sat down on the edge of bed, contemplating what she should do. She could call Chris or wake up Seth but there was not a lot she could actually tell them. She had no idea where Danny would be and she did not know everything that was happening. The sound of Jack crying broke her train of thought.

"Hey, shhh…" Mary picked him up. "It's okay…"

As soon as Mary held, he settled down, resting his head against her chest.

"What are we going to do, Jack?" She whispered. "Your Dad thinks he's Superman…How do we get him realize he's not?"

_**XxXxX**_

Marshall jumped out his truck and ran across the street towards the warehouse, glancing around to make sure he wasn't being watched. He crouched down underneath a small open window so he could hear what was going on inside.

"Jase, please…just let me explain…" Danny pleaded.

"You wimped out on us, Danny boy…"

"No, I just….my Dad, you know he's a US Marshal and so is all his family." Danny stated. "They've been watching me…I can't get away with anything."

"Have you been talking to your Marshal family?" Jase questioned. "You know what happens to people who talk…"

"Jase, please…"

Marshall couldn't stay and listen any longer. He moved over the door and the force of a well-placed kick broke the lock easily. All eyes turned to look at him as he stepped into the warehouse.

"Who the hell are you?" Jase demanded, signaling to the others to stay where they were.

Marshall assessed the scene in front of him. Danny was stood in the center, surrounded by seven guys, some teenagers, some older. Three of them had baseball bats but he could see no more weapons, although that didn't mean there wasn't any. He glanced across the room, where Jase was stood with his own bat.

"Danny, let's go." He turned to his nephew.

"Jesus, Uncle Marshall…" Danny stared at him opened mouth.

Jase laughed out loud. "Your Uncle? Seriously."

"Danny, move it."

"Danny, stay." Jase ordered.

Danny looked between the two men. He wanted nothing more than move to his Uncle's side but he was too scared. He knew what this gang was capable of.

"This has nothing to do with you…" Jase walked towards Marshall. "You better leave while you have the chance."

"I'm not going anywhere…" Marshall's gaze reminded steady on the gang leader.

"Your funeral…" Jase replied, moving behind Marshall and kicking the door shut. "You really thought you could just walk in here and get your own way just because you're a goddamn cop? I mean, I'm guessing you're a cop…No one else is this stupid to believe they could take us all on…"

"Fifth generation Marshal." He couldn't help but bait him.

"I'm meant to be impressed by that?" Jase questioned.

"Come on, it's quite impressive…"

"Jase let him go…this has nothing to do with him." Danny pleaded.

"Shut up, Dan…He walked into this." Jase circled slowly around Marshall.

Marshall looked over at Danny again and he could see he was terrified but it was mistake to take his eyes off of Jase because as soon as he did, he felt the baseball bat connect hard against the back of his legs. Marshall fell forward, getting his hands out in front of him just in time to stop his head hitting the floor.

Jase crouched down beside him. "You've walked into a whole load of trouble, Marshal Marshall…"

"Jase!" Danny tried to step forward but was stopped by one of the other guys.

"Are you scared?" Jase continued, holding his hand out and someone place a gun in it. "You should be…"

Marshall forced himself not to react when he felt the barrel pressed against his temple.

_Mary's going to kill me if I get shot… _

"I could take you on any day if you weren't hiding behind your weapons…" Marshall replied.

Jase smirked and gave the gun back to whoever gave it to him before standing up straight. He let the baseball bat drop to the floor and Marshall thought about reaching for it but before he could, Jase kicked him hard in the ribs.

"Just me and you, Marshal Marshall…" Jase kicked him a second time and then a third. "No weapons."

The fourth kick sent Marshall sprawling onto his side, cradling his ribs and groaning in pain.

"Come on, tough guy…get up!" Jase stared down at him. "Just what I thought…"

Jase picked up the baseball bat again and swung it up to rest of his shoulder. He nodded once at the group and stepped back as they moved surround Marshall.

"Jase…please I'll do anything…" Danny said, watching helpless.

Jase put his arm around him, gripping his shoulder painful to stop him from moving. "This is what happens when you cross me…"

Marshall tried to fight back but it was no good, instead he brought his arms up to protect his hand as bats, fists and boots rained down on him.

"Just leave him alone! Get off him!"

Jase let out a whistle and everyone stopped, stepping away from Marshall. Danny let out a sigh of relief when he saw his Uncle moving.

"You had enough, Marshal Marshall?" Jase asked, letting Danny go and moving back to Marshall.

He didn't reply, instead he used all his energy to push himself up. He managed to get to a knelling position and when he looked up, he saw Jase was stood in front of him and others were out of sight behind him.

"Maybe I should just finish the job, right now?" Jase suggested as he turned to the side to look at Danny. "What do you think you'll daddy will do when they find his brother's dead body?"

Marshall kept his eyes focused on Jase as Danny begged him not to do anymore. He was pretty sure he had broken several ribs and he could feel blood running down the side of his face but he kept reminding himself of the pain he felt when he had got shot. How he had just wanted to lie down and die but he couldn't because he had to save Mary….If he could force himself to stand up and fight back then, then he could do it now to.

Jase laughed at Danny's attempts to change his mind before he turned back to Marshall, swinging the bat hard, aiming for his head.

Marshall somehow managed to grab the end of the bat midair and used all his strength to stand up. He pushed hard, causing Jase to stumble backwards into the wall and Marshall leaned his forearm against the length of the bat so it pressed across Jase's throat.

The moved surprised everyone, no one reacted fast and as soon as the other gang members moved forward, Marshall pulled his gun and aimed it at them. "I wouldn't take one more step if I were you…"

Everyone stopped suddenly, not knowing what to do. Jase tried to kick at him but every time he did, Marshall pressed harder against the bat.

"Struggling will just make it worse…Just a little more pressure and it will cut off your air supply completely." Marshall told him calmly.

Jase quit moving and glared at him but couldn't speak. Marshall turned to look back at the others and saw they were all stood still. When his eyes found Danny, he was happy to see him near the exit, back against the wall, watching with stunned, wide eyes.

"So this is what's going to happen…" Marshall said slowly, turning his attention back to Jase. "Danny and I are going to walk away….you're not going to come after us…You're going to do anything…"

"Screw you…" Jase managed to choke out.

"Ah-ha…" Marshall shook his head; applying more pressure to his throat causing the other man to struggle to breath. "You do not want to go up against me…I will finish you…do you understand me?"

"Fine, whatever…" Jase replied.

"Danny, go…" Marshall told him. "Get out."

His nephew hesitated before stumbling quickly to the door.

"If I found out you're even thinking about anyone in my family, I will come back…" Marshall threatened.

"Just let me go, man…" Jase shrugged more. "Please."

Marshall stepped back and watched him fall to the floor, gasping for air. He shot the others a look and kept his gun trained on them as he made his way to door, trying not to show how much pain he was in.

Once he got out, the cold air caused him to cough and he leaned back against the wall.

"Uncle Marshall!" Danny was by his side, gripping on to him. "I'm so sorry…I never thought…"

"We got to get out of here…" Marshall pushed himself off the wall and pulled his keys out of his pocket. "You got to drive."

"I'm sorry…" Danny said again as he helped Marshall walked towards the truck.

"Just…keep walking."

**TBC**

**Please review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to anyone who reviewed and all the people that added this story to their story alert list! I hope you like this chapter! Please review! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

"I'm taking you to the hospital."

"No."

"Uncle Marshall, you're hurt." Danny glanced across at him. "You need to see a doctor."

"I've had worse…" Marshall replied but winced as the truck went over a bump.

"He was going to kill you." Danny blinked a few times as he eyes started to burn. "You shouldn't have come…"

"And leave you to face them?" Marshall questioned. "Just drive and don't worry about it."

Danny turned his focus back to the road. He had only been driving for a few months and he was already in enough trouble without crashing the car as well.

Marshall noticed his nephew brushing tears from his eyes but decided not to comment. He leaned back against the headrest, taking slow shallow breaths. It felt like his ribs were on fire and he was trying to avoid having another coughing fit because that hurt like hell. He had got a look at himself in the rearview mirror earlier and he knew there was no way he was going to be able to hide his injuries. He had a large cut above his right eye, which caused the right side of his face to be covered in blood. His lip was split and a dark bruise was already forming on his left cheek. He wondered how bad it would have been, if hadn't been able to get his hands up around his head. When he looked down, he saw his arms and hands were covered in scraps and bruising. His left wrist was swollen and he had at least two broken fingers.

"Hey, Danny…pullover at that drug store." Marshall told him when he spotted it.

"Okay."

"I need you to go inside and grab of load of first-aid stuff." Marshall said once they were parked out front. He wasn't sure if he parents would have what he needed and didn't want to risk waking them, searching for it. "Get bandages, some saline, gauze pads and anything else you see…"

"Wouldn't it be better if you just let me take you to the hospital?"

"Danny, come on… don't fight me on this." Marshall sighed.

"Okay, fine." He undid his seatbelt and opened the door. He hesitated before getting out. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine." Marshall assured him. "Go."

"I'll be as quick as I can."

Marshall watched him enter the store before pulling out his cell phone. He saw he had four miss calls from Mary. He quickly sent her a text telling her, he was on his way home with Danny, to stop her worrying. He then dialed Craig Timmons number.

"Timmons."

"Hey, it's Marshall…"

"Marshall, it's almost 4 in the morning...You're lucky I'm on the night shift."

"Yeah, you mentioned that you were yesterday." Marshall replied.

"What's up? You sound funny."

"I need another favor."

"That's not something you ever want to hear at 4am."

"Can you get some guys to watch my brother's house?"

"Yeah, sure…" Craig replied. "Why? You think Collins is going to try something?"

"Maybe."

"What's happened?"

"He didn't appreciate me interrupting his little meeting with Danny…"

"Marshall, tell me never went in there alone!"

"It happened pretty quickly…I didn't get chance to call for backup."

"Are you okay?"

"It was eight against two, I took a bit of beating but I got the upper hand in the end…" Marshall answered. "He is either going to back off or come after us hard."

"Where are you? I'll come take a statement…"

"We'll go over it tomorrow…I just want to go home and get some rest." Marshall cut him off. "But if you can put some security on Chris' house just in case, I would appreciate it."

"You got it."

"Keep me updated if anything happens."

"Yeah, same with you." Craig told me. "Don't go taking on any more gangs alone."

"Are you kidding me? I'll be lucky to survive the night once my fiancée sees me."

"I can't help you with that."

"Thank, pal." Marshall rolled his eyes but winced in pain. "I'll speak to you tomorrow."

"Take it easy."

Marshall pocketed the phone again and let his eyes close. He was pretty sure didn't have a concussion but right now he didn't care if he did; he was just so tired.

"I think I got everything." Danny announced as he got back into the car.

"Great." Marshall took the bag and looked inside, seeing Danny had also got some painkillers and a couple bottles of water. He pulled them out, deciding it would be better to take them now so they would have time to kick in before he had to treat his wounds.

"Uncle Marshall?" Danny said as he drove off again.

"Yeah…"

"You know you said you had worse?" He glanced across at him briefly. "And in woods, you said if I knew what it was like to get shot…"

"About 5 years ago." Marshall answered the questioned he knew was coming. "A Single bullet to the chest."

Danny's eyes widened. "How come I never knew?"

Marshall shrugged. "Not something I talk a lot about."

"How did it happen?"

"Mary and I got ambushed in the middle of nowhere." He replied. "We were trapped for a few hours before Mary got us out of there."

"Did it hurt?"

Marshall rolled his eyes. "Anyone who says getting shot doesn't hurt is lying."

"I mean, was it serious?" He questioned.

"I didn't get proper medical attention straight away so yeah…it got pretty serious."

"Wow."

"Danny…getting shot… it was one of the most painful things I've ever been through…" Marshall said slowly, gritting his teeth when they hit another bump. "But I would still take ten bullets for you…So, everything that happens over the next couple of day…remember that because I will protect you or die trying."

"I don't want you to get killed, Uncle Marshall!" Danny stated. "Not just to protect me!"

"You got no choice, kid…" Marshall mumbled, sleepily. "It's my job."

Danny pulled up into his Grandparents' driveway 10 minutes later and looked over at Marshall cautiously.

"You don't look too good."

"I'll be fine…I just need to get cleaned up." He winced as he undid his seatbelt; his muscles were already stiff to move.

"Do you need some help?"

"Bring the bag from the drugstore." Marshall told him. "You might as well stay here tonight…Your parents will be over for breakfast in a few hours anyway."

"They're going to kill me." Danny followed his uncle to the front door.

"They might be angry for a while but they'll come around." Marshall assured him. "You're doing the right thing now, that's what is important."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, now come on." He opened the door. "Be quiet, I don't want your Grandparents to wake up."

Danny watched helplessly as Marshall made his way slowly up the stairs, following behind just in case his uncle needed a hand.

"I'm alright." Marshall assured his nephew once more then they reached the top and he saw the look on his face.

"I was really scared, tonight…" Danny whispered, his eyes tearing up again. "Before you got there…I was so scared…"

Marshall sighed quietly. "I'm actually glad to hear that….I'm glad you realized how dangerous all this is…How it's not the sort of thing you want to be mixed up in."

"I do…I promise you…I won't get involved with anything like this again."

"Good."

"Uncle Marshall?" Danny said tentatively. "Were you scared?"

Marshall paused for a moment, thinking back to when he was on the floor of that warehouse. How he thought if they killed him, then they would probably kill Danny too. He worried how his family would survive that. He thought about Jack…How he didn't want his little boy to grow up without a Dad. Then there was Mary…She had too many people walk out of her life and he refused to be one of them. He knew how hard it was for her trust people but he was the exception and had been for a long time…He didn't know what she would do if he broke her heart.

"A little…" He admitted. "But that's nothing compared to how terrified I am at the moment…"

"What? Why?" Danny frowned.

"I'm pretty sure Mary is waiting up for me." Marshall nodded his head down the hallway to his room, where they could see a light shining underneath the door, trying to lighten the mood. "She's going to kill."

Danny's eyes widened a little. "Oh my god…She's going to hate me…she'll never want Jackson to be around us again…"

"Danny, relax…" Marshall told him, laughing lightly. "Mary may act tough but she's a good judge of character and if you're straight with her, then she'll be on your side."

"You think so?"

"I know so….Now, go to bed before we wake everyone up…." Marshall took the bag of medical supplies off him.

"Okay…Thanks, for everything."

Marshall waited until the guest room door closed behind Danny before taking a deep breath and entering his room.

"Hey…" He whispered, seeing Mary sat up in bed with her laptop.

"Holy crap!"

"Mare…" He started when threw the laptop onto the bed and rushed towards him.

"What the hell?" She demanded, gripping his chin gently and turned his face so she could get a better look.

"Hey, careful…" He winced. "Injured person here!"

"What happened?" She asked.

"They were threatening Danny so I had to step in." He sat down on the edge of the bed with a groan. "They weren't too happy about it."

"And you didn't think to call for some backup?"

"There wasn't much time…It all happened quickly."

She sat beside him and took his hand, running her fingers gently up his bruised and bleeding arm. "Jesus, Marshall…."

"I had to go in there, Mare…" He told her. "I had to protect him."

She looked up at him, locking her eyes with his. She couldn't argue because she knew there was no way he could stand by and let anyone get hurt. She knew she would probably have done the same thing in his position.

"Is Danny okay?"

"He's fine."

"Should I take you to the hospital?"

"Just a bit bruised." He replied.

"And cut…" She reached her hand out to his touch his forehead but his jerked away before she could. "You're covered in the blood."

"It's not as bad as it looks." He moved to push himself off the bed. "I'm going to get cleaned up…"

"No, stay there…" Mary gently put a hand to his shoulder to stop him getting up. "I'll be right back."

Marshall watched her leave the bedroom and when she returned a few minutes later, she said a cloth and a bowl of water.

"Some of these cuts might need dressing." She commented, soaking the cloth in the water before bringing it to his face.

"I got some supplies." He pointed to the bag beside him.

Mary was relieved that the blood seemed to be coming from just the cut in his forehead, which had already stopped bleeding but the more blood she washed away, the more bruising was revealed.

"How did this happen?" She questioned, breaking the silence as she tipped the contents of the bag onto the bed. "With all your training and experience…How was it this bad?"

"It was eight against two, Mare…they held Danny back." Marshall explained, bracing himself as poured the saline onto a cotton ball. "I made a mistake and took my eyes off Collins for a second and he took out my legs."

Marshall winced when she touched the cotton ball to the wound and she grimaced sympathetically but placed a hand on his cheek to stop him from moving away.

"He took a couple kicks to my ribs and when I was on the floor, the others surrounded me…" He explained. "I fought back but there wasn't much I could do."

"Why didn't you fire your gun?" She asked, picking up gauze pad and placed onto the cut, then guided his hand to hold it while she taped it into place.

"I couldn't get to it…" He admitted. "I was trying to protect my head."

She stopped and looked at him. "What do you mean you couldn't get to it?"

"My arms were around my…"

"Marshall, tell you never went in with your weapon still in its holster?"

"I didn't know what the situation was..."

"That situation was you were confronting a gang alone without back up…You at least show them you're armed."

"Mare, all I knew was they had Danny…Until I got in there, I didn't know whether they had any guns themselves…" He replied. "Me going in there waving my gun around might have got us both killed…"

"Oh come on…"

"I freely admit I made mistakes tonight but getting my gun out when most of them are teenagers trying to make a name for themselves would have been a bad idea!"

"Marshall…"

"You think they wouldn't have done this if I had a gun?" He questioned. "It was eight against two…the odds were against us."

She sighed. "Yet you still went in alone."

"I know you probably don't want to hear this but I would do it again…" He told her. "And you would too…"

She stared at him for a few seconds but didn't answer. Instead her eyes went down to his arms. "You realize you've got a broken hand, right?"

"I think it's just some fingers." He tried to flex his hand but barely moved. "And probably a sprained wrist…"

"Your arms are a mess…" She turned them so she could look at the other side. "The cut from the Martins' kid has reopened."

"It doesn't look too bad…" He replied. "With a new dressing, it'll be fine."

"You're going to have to take off your t-shirt…" She told him.

"Now is not the time, Mare…"

"Shut it, Doofus…" She rolled her eyes. "I need to see the damage underneath."

Marshall went to remove the t-shirt but when he lifted his arms, it felt like someone was stabbing him repeatedly in the side. He cried out in a pain and immediately cradled his ribs.

"So, we'll add busted ribs to the list of injuries then…" Mary said before getting off the bed and walking over to dresser.

Marshall frowned a little when he saw her pick up a pair of scissors. "What are you going to do with them?"

"Relax; I saw them do this all the time on ER…"

"You never watched ER…" He muttered, eyeing her cautiously as she sat in front of him again.

"How do you know? I might have been a fan of Brad Pitt…"

"Clooney."

"What?"

"It was George Clooney that was in ER, not Brad Pitt…"

"Alright, fine…I never watched ER…" She rolled her eyes and grabbed the bottom of his shirt and started cutting.

"Mare, this is my favorite shirt!" He moaned.

"It's the easiest way….Besides, it's covered in blood somehow I don't think you'll be able to wear it again."

He sighed and let her pull the ruined shirt from his body. When he heard her gasp, he looked down and saw angry bruising covering his ribs and chest.

"What the hell did they do to you?"

"Baseball bats and steel-capped boots…" He replied. "I had my arms guarding my head so my ribs were unprotected."

"This looks really bad… you need to see a doctor."

"You know as well as I do, they won't do anything for broken ribs…They'll just give me some painkillers and tell me to rest." He replied.

"And what if you have internal bleeding or a punctured lung?"

"I've had a punctured lung before so I would know if I did."

"Marshall…"

"Mare, you've had broken ribs in the past…You know the bruising looks bad for a few weeks or so and that they will heal on their own."

"But I broke _one _rib by tripping up chasing a suspect…not because eight guys beat the crap out of me!"

"If I start showing any signs of internal bleeding or anything like that, you can take me the hospital straight away but I'm sure it's just a few broken ribs and some bruising." He tried to assure her. "I'd rather not go if I don't have too...not with everything that is going on."

"We'll be talking about this again tomorrow…" She promised him.

She picked up the wash cloth again, raising it in the water before taking his right arm.

"Fine." He replied, watching her clean him up.

It took 20 minutes for her to treat the rest of his wounds and after wrapping his left wrist in a support bandage, she was done.

"Do you think you have a concussion? Should you go to sleep?" She asked, as she tidy up.

"Other than a slight headache, I have no other symptoms so I think I'll be okay to sleep…" He replied. "If I can get any, that is."

She watched him as he tried to get settled in the bed, obviously in pain. "Can I get you anything? Painkillers? Icepack?"

"I already took some painkillers."

"An icepack then…might help your ribs?"

"Yeah, worth a shot…My parents should have something to use in the freezer."

"I'll be right back."

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was surprise to see the kitchen light was on. She looked at the clock in the hallway and saw it was almost 5:30am. She hoped that it wasn't Sarah or Seth, she really did not want to explain what she needed an icepack for but when she pushed open the door, she saw Danny sat at the table with a glass of milk.

"Hey…" She said quietly causing him to jump out of his seat. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"How's Uncle Marshall?"

Mary could see he was genially concerned for Marshall and the look in his eyes, told her he felt guilty.

"He's being stubborn about seeing a doctor but I think he'll be okay." She replied, moving over to the freeze. "You okay?"

Danny shrugged a little. "Fine."

"You didn't get hurt?"

He looked down at the floor. "No."

"Good, I'm glad…" She replied, closing the freeze after grabbing a couple of icepacks.

"Really? You don't hate me?"

"No, Danny...You made a mistake but I know you never wanted anyone to get hurt…least of all Marshall…"

"I only met them tonight because they said they would get Jake after school if I wimped out on them…" He explained. "I never thought Marshall would come after me…I didn't even think he knew I would go…"

"He does this sort of thing for a living and he's good at it." Mary gave him a small smile.

"Is he really okay?"

"He will be."

"If there is anything you need…"

"Just try and get some sleep." Mary told him. "You look exhausted."

"Yeah…okay."

"Good night." Mary said before heading back upstairs.

She found Marshall had fallen asleep, so she placed the icepacks on the bedside table and climbed into bed.

She rolled onto her side so she was facing him and could watch his chest rising and falling. She was thankful she had slept earlier because she didn't think she would be able to now even if she wanted to. She was too scared to close her eyes incase Marshall was wrong and there was something more serious than broken ribs, cuts and bruises.

She inched closer to him and gently ran a finger down his cheek. She had always been protective over him…he was her partner and best friend but she wondered when she started to become terrified about him being out of sight. She had never felt that way before for anyone except Jackson. She wondered whether it was normal to feel like that about the people you truly loved and if it was, how was she going to cope if he took the promotion that Allison was offering?

**TBC**

**Please review! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for all the reviews! Please keep them coming! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

Jack woke up grumpy, which did not help Mary's mood. She was tired and worried which was not a good combination. It was only 7:15 and Marshall had been asleep for just under two hours. She wanted to let him rest but she was also worried about the head injury. Now Jack was whimpering and she was reluctant to leave Marshall.

"Come on, kiddo…" She bounced him a little and then sat on the bed. "Shhh, Daddy is sleeping."

Jack looked towards Marshall before stretching both arms out and Mary had to catch him to stop him falling forward.

"Alright, okay…" Mary sighed, holding him a little tighter as she moved up the bed, closer to Marshall. She ran a hand down his face. "Marshall?"

"Hmmm…" He mumbled, shifting closer to her but didn't open his eyes.

"Hey, you awake?" She asked.

"I'm not sure…" He muttered, rolling onto his back, groaning. He turned his head and forced his eyes open. "Hey…"

"How are you feeling?" She asked, placing Jack on the bed between them.

Marshall reached out a hand to steady his son as he stretched his arms out again. "Like I've gone a couple rounds with eight guys with baseball bats…"

"Not funny."

"A little sore…" He answered, pulling Jack closer to him. "What time is it?"

"A little after seven…" She grabbed Jack and put him on her lap when he tried to crawl onto Marshall.

"He's fine…"

She rolled her eyes. "You've got broken ribs…Do you really want a 15 pound baby sitting on your stomach?"

"You may have a point…" He struggled to sit up.

"It's still early, why don't you get another couple of hours sleep?" Mary suggested.

"I should get up…"

"Why?" She asked. "Your brother isn't due to arrive until 9 and your parents aren't even up yet."

"Why are you awake?"

"Jack wants his breakfast." She told him. "Go back to sleep."

"Okay but only for a little while…Wake me up before everyone gets here."

"Deal." She leaned down and kissed him before standing up with Jack, who was still trying to reach for Marshall.

She sighed as he started to cry when they left the room. He wasn't normally a fussy baby but occasionally, he would want one parent over the other. She really hoped today wasn't going to be one of those days.

It took Mary almost an hour to feed Jack his breakfast, he normally loved mashed banana but this morning, she ended up wearing most of it. It didn't help that she had to feed while he was sat in his stroller, since there was no highchair. Then she couldn't work out how to get the coffee machine to work so when Sarah came down at 8:30, Mary was slowly losing her patience.

"Good morning…" Sarah looked at her and smiled a little. "He didn't want to eat his breakfast, huh?"

"No, I think he just didn't want me feeding it to him…" Mary muttered as she cut up some toast for him, which he happily shoved in his mouth.

Sarah busied herself with preparing a breakfast feast and Mary just watched her, silently. The mood she was in, she didn't trust herself to speak to her future Mother-in-law and completely ruin their already strained relationship. Then when Seth joined them, he just buried himself in the morning paper, which was fine by Mary.

"So, will you be joining us this afternoon, Mary?" Sarah questioned.

"I'm sorry, what?" Mary turned her attention away from Jack to her.

"Saturday is park day…Helen, Lucy and I take the children to the park for a few hours." She explained. "Seth and boys are taking time off work because Marshall is here."

"Oh…" Mary glanced at Jack, who was still eating his toast. "Marshall never mentioned it…I don't know if he will want to…"

"Of course he will." Sarah insisted. "Everyone is going."

Mary sighed, resting her head on her hand and was about to reply when she heard the front door opening. Glancing at the clock, she knew it must be Chris and Lucy. She knew Marshall had told her to wake him before they arrived but he needed to rest.

"Hey, it's just going to be the two of us for breakfast." Chris announced as they walked into the kitchen.

"Where are the boys?" Sarah asked, frowning.

"Jake has gone over to his friends for a few hours." Lucy explained.

"What about the park?"

"He'll be back before we leave…He doesn't want to miss it." She replied. "And Danny snuck out last night, so who knows about him."

"Again?" Seth glanced up from the paper. "Something needs to be done about that boy."

"We were actually wondering whether Marshall might know something." Lucy looked over at Mary. "The two of them have always been close and he seemed to be getting through to Danny…"

"Marshall's sleeping and I don't want to wake him yet." Mary replied, unstrapping Jack and picking him up when he started fussing again.

"He won't mind…" Chris shot her a look.

"I mind!" Mary returned the glare.

"My son could be anywhere…"

"Oh for the love of…" She started, shifting Jack to her hip so she could bounce him. "He's here."

"What?"

"Danny…When Marshall realized he had snuck out last night, he went and got him." She told them. "He's upstairs sleeping."

Chris stared at her for a few seconds before storming off to the bottom of the stairs. "Daniel!"

"Hey! Keep it down!" Mary hissed from the doorway.

"Daniel, you get down here right now!" Chris ignored her.

"You'll wake up, Marshall!"

"Good!" He spun around to face her. "Maybe he can explain what the hell is going on!"

"Chris, just calm down." Lucy walked over to him and tried to pull him back into the kitchen. "At least we know he's safe…"

"We don't know anything!" Chris replied, dropping down at the kitchen table. "I sick of all the lying!"

"What did Marshall say last night?" Seth questioned Mary. "I'm guessing this has something to do with whatever he locked away in my safe yesterday…."

"What?" Chris looked up at his father questionably.

"Was it drugs?" Seth continued. "Has Danny been caught again because this time I won't help him…"

"It wasn't drugs."

"Then what was it?"

"Maybe you should wait until Danny…"

"This is stupid!" Chris stood up again. "I'm going to talk to Marshall!"

"No, you're not!" This time, Mary grabbed his arm to stop him leaving.

"He's been here two days and he think he can take over with my son?" Chris pulled out of grasp. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go and interrupt his precious beauty sleep!"

"Because he took on a gang of eight guys armed with baseball bats and suffered the beating meant for your son!" Mary snapped back. "So, yeah…why don't you try cutting him a bit of slack?"

The only sound that could be heard was Jack's crying and after a few seconds, Mary turned her attention back to him.

"Are they okay?" Lucy asked, quietly.

"Danny is fine." Mary glanced at her. "They didn't touch him."

"And Marshall?"

"I'm fine too…"

Mary rolled her eyes when she saw him enter the room and then glared at Chris. "Nice going, numbnuts! See why I wanted to let him sleep?"

"Mare, its okay…"

"Marshall…" Lucy covered her mouth with hand. "Oh my god…"

"Seat down…" Sarah immediately guided him to a chair. "I'm calling a doctor."

"Good idea." Mary agreed.

"I don't need a doctor." Marshall insisted. "It looks worse than it is."

"Looks like you've gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson." Seth commented. "What the hell happened?"

"Danny was in trouble, I went to help him."

"What kind of trouble?" Chris questioned.

"He's just getting dress and then he will explain it all from the beginning." Marshall stood up and took Jack off Mary, who immediately stopped crying.

"Marshall, you shouldn't be lifting anything!" Mary tried to grab her son back but Marshall moved away.

"I got him, its fine." He sat back down and Jack rested his head against his Dad's chest. "Why don't we all just sit and calm down for a minute…"

"Marshall is right and I'll make some more coffee." Sarah added.

"What the hell were you thinking going there alone?" Chris sat opposite Marshall.

He sighed. "Chris, it was the middle of the night and I didn't really know what was going on…I never intended on confronting anyone."

"Is it really that bad?" Lucy asked. "Is Danny really in a lot of trouble?"

"He got mixed up with the wrong people and got dragged into something deeper then he thought…" Marshall explained. "He's doing the right thing about it now."

"What does that mean?" Seth questioned.

"I've set up a meeting with a friend who works on the drug squad…Danny is going to tell them what he knows."

"I can't believe this…" Chris muttered, running a hand across his face.

"Mom….Dad?"

They all turned and saw Danny in the doorway. He was wearing the jeans he had on the night before but instead of a t-shirt he was wearing one of Marshall's USMS sweatshirts, which was way too big. His eyes were red and it looked like he had gotten no sleep at all. Mary thought back to the night she had first meet him, acting all tough and grown up now he looked like a small, lost kid.

"You better sit down and start explaining." Chris ordered.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered, looking down at the floor. "I never meant for it to get this bad…"

"Daniel, start talking…"

Danny did what he was told. He explained how three months ago, one of his friends introduced him to Jason Collins and how since then he had been hanging out with them. He told them how he knew about Collins dealing drugs but he thought it was a just a bit of weed until last week, when Collins told him he wanted him in on a big deal.

Chris stood up and paced around the kitchen when Danny reached the part about the gun. How Marshall had seen him with it and made him see sense about how dangerous it was.

"If you wanted out of this gang, why did you meet them last night?" Seth asked when Danny admitted to taking the gun out of the safe.

Danny hesitated and only continued after getting assuring nod from Marshall. "When I told Jase that I wasn't meeting them…That I wanted out…he told me he would come after Jake…"

"What?"

"I had to take the gun back to him…I had to because otherwise he would have known I had been talking." Danny insisted.

"He threatened Jake and you didn't warn me!" Chris looked between his son and brother. "Have you lost your minds? We let him go to his friend's house alone!"

"It's okay…He's fine." Marshall assured him.

"How do you know that?" Chris was already pulling his cell phone out to call the parents of Jake's friend.

"I had a couple of guys watch your house last night…" Marshall explained. "I spoke to them a little while and I told them to stick with Jake for a while."

"Oh, thank god!" Lucy exclaimed. "But we should get him…make sure he stays with us."

"What do mean, you had a couple of guys watching my house?" Chris looked at Marshall.

"Collins knows that Danny betrayed him and I embarrassed him by taking him on and winning." Marshall stated. "I didn't want to take the risk."

"And you didn't think about telling me what was going on?"

"It was 4am, Chris." Marshall replied. "I had everything under control."

"Oh, well that's great then!" He said sarcastically. "Nothing to worry about."

"Chris!" Lucy glared at him before turning to Marshall. "What happens now?"

"Danny tells Detective Timmons everything he knows." Marshall told her as he stood up. "I'll go and get dressed and then we'll leave."

"Give me, Jack." Mary held her arms out when she saw wince in pain.

Marshall was about to argue but decided against it. "I'll be ten minutes."

"Uncle Marshall?" Danny called out before he could leave the room. "I really am sorry."

Marshall gave him a small smile. "I know."

Mary followed Marshall upstairs and watched silently as he slowly got dressed.

"What's with the look?" Marshall broke her train of thought as he fumbled with the buttons on his shirt.

Mary placed Jack in the crib then moved over to him and took over. "Why don't you let Chris and Lucy take Danny to talk to your friend?"

"I promised I would be there with him." Marshall frowned a little.

"I know but you can't even button your own shirt…" She said as she reached the last button. "You're hurt."

"I need to give a statement about last night too." He added and she sighed. "Mare, you know I need to do this."

"You need to rest…You need to stop taking everything on!" She insisted. "It was the reason why we came on this vacation..."

"Vacation?" He repeated. "I think I've actually forgotten what a vacation is."

"This is my point."

"Look, we'll talk about this when I get back…" He went to grab his jacket but decided against it, it wasn't worth the pain of trying to get it on.

"Marshall!"

"Mary, just…Please, can you let me handle this?" He asked and kept walking towards the door. "I need to do this."

She shook her head slightly but stayed silent as he left.

When Marshall entered the kitchen again, he found both Danny and Lucy stood with their coats on.

"Ready?" He asked.

"I guess…" Danny swallowed the lump that rose in his throat.

"Chris?" Marshall looked at his brother sat at the table. "Let's go."

"I'm staying here."

"What?"

"Leave him, Marshall…" Lucy told him. "We should get going."

"I'm coming too." Seth added, he put a hand on Danny's shoulder and pushed him gently to the door.

Marshall stayed where he was until the three of them had gone. "Chris, come on…"

"You seem to have everything under control so what's the point in me being there?" He still did not turn around to face Marshall.

"Chris, he's your son."

"I'm staying here."

Marshall stared at his brother's back for another few seconds before shaking his head and walking away.

_**XxXxX**_

"How's it going?" Lucy stood up when Marshall exited the interview room where Danny was talking to Craig. She was actually a little relieved when Danny had asked for Marshall to sit in with them. She didn't know if she could sit and listen to all the dangerous things he's been up to.

"He'll be out in a minute." Marshall replied, pressing a few buttons on his cell phone to listen to the voicemail that Mary had left him.

"_Hi, just thought I check in and see how it's going…I guess you're not done yet… Anyway, I need to get out for a little while so Jack and I are going to tag along with your sister-in-law and nieces to the mall…I know, your mother wants us all to go the park this afternoon but I was thinking we could do something... you, me and Jackson…just the three of us….Well, I talk to you later." _

Marshall sighed, he felt guilty about walking away from her earlier. He remembered how felt when Mary was running around trying to fix Brandi and Jinx's messes; how he just wanted her to stop and take a breath. He went to return her call to tell her he would love nothing more than to spend the afternoon with them when Lucy walked closer to him.

"What's going to happen?" She questioned.

"He was able to give them enough information so they can set up an operation to take down Collins and his gang." He replied. "From what Danny said, a lot of them are teenagers like him so they might be willing to talk too."

"He's not going to get charged with anything?" Seth asked.

"He hasn't actually done anything illegal except for the drug possession which you already took care of."

"So as soon as they arrest this Collins, it will all be over?" Lucy said hopefully.

"As long as all goes well…" Marshall shrugged as the door opened and Danny followed Craig out.

"If there is anything else you remember then just give me a call." Craig told Danny.

"Okay…"

"Thanks, Craig." Marshall reached out and shook his hand.

"You just stay out of trouble…" Craig replied lightly.

"I'll try my best…" Marshall gave him a small smile.

Marshall was walking beside Lucy towards the truck just ahead of Seth and Danny and couldn't help but roll his eyes at the lecture his father was giving his nephew.

"You not only put yourself in danger but your family too…"

"Dad, let it go…he knows." Marshall interrupted, unlocking the driver's door to his truck.

"You're in no fit state to drive." Seth argued.

"Neither are you…You're angry and I would like to get back in one piece." He said impatiently as he got in.

"When did you get so stubborn?" Seth muttered, walking around the truck,

"I wonder where he gets it from." Lucy commented causing them both to glare at her.

Seth glanced at his son as he drove home, he could tell he was in some discomfort. He wished he could tell Marshall to lighten up a little and let other people help him with things. He knew this sort of thing was similar to the cases he dealt with back in Albuquerque but he had a partner and a whole team of Marshals to help him out. Marshall had decided to take Danny's problem on alone and paid the price last night. There was something going on with his son but he just could not work out what.

"Marshall, you know you're going the wrong way, don't you?" Lucy stated from the back seat.

"I was just checking something…" He replied. "I need you two, to get on the floor."

"What?" Danny frowned.

"On the floor?" Lucy repeated.

"Marshall?" Seth looked at his son, questionable, noting the concern look on his face.

"We picked up a tail." He answered. "Danny, Lucy, just get down on the floor until I say otherwise."

"Do as he says." Seth added, looking in the wing mirror at the red car that was behind them.

**TBC**

**Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay guys, thank you so much for the reviews! Glad you like the suspension…This chapter is filled with more! Please review! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

"What are you doing?" Marshall glanced across at his father when he saw a gun out the corner of his eye.

"What do you think?" Seth looked back at him. "I'm going to fire a warning shot."

"We don't know who they are, yet." Marshall increased the speed a little when he turned a corner and saw the road ahead was clear. "Besides, we're in a public area…too many innocent people around."

"Marshall, look…"

"And I don't know if my hand is up to the driving required during a shootout." He cut in.

"What do you want to do then?" Seth asked, annoyed. "Wait for them to run us off the road because if you're not up to driving then you're not up to fighting…and from here, it looks like there is five guys in that car."

"Oh my god…" Lucy exclaimed. "We're going to get killed!"

Marshall glared at his father, before reaching down and grabbing the hands free earpiece for his cell phone. Pressing a few buttons on the phone, he connected a call to Craig.

"Craig, we got trouble…We picked up a tail…Could do with some backup." Marshall informed him. "I'm heading north to that closed industrial park, trying to lead them into a less populated area."

"They're gaining on us." Seth told him, glancing over his shoulder to check on his daughter-in-law and Grandson. They were both crouched down, their arms covering this head and he could see that they were both shaking with fear.

Marshall gave Craig their locations and the details of the car. He knock a sharp left and pressed down on the accelerator harder, over taking two cars and swerving out the path of an oncoming car, just in time.

"Are you two doing okay back there?" Marshall asked, glancing in the review mirror and saw the car was keeping up with them.

"Is it Jase?" Danny asked, his voice trembling a little.

"I don't know…but that doesn't matter." Marshall answered, grimacing as his wrist protested at another turn.

Seth reached up to grab the handle above the door to stop himself being thrown around. He just realized that it had a long time since he was last in a high speed chase. He was coming up to his retirement and the last year, his work load had lightened considerably. Despite hating everything that Danny had been doing and the situation they had been put in, he was proud at how Marshall was handle it. He could tell his son was in pain and he looked exhausted but he was still calm and in control; dealing with it like any other case as he gave a running commentary on their location to Timmons.

"Hold tight." Marshall told them, increasing the speed once more putting more distance between the car and them once the entered the industrial park.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Lucy mumbled, weakly.

"Looks like the cavalry have arrived." Seth commented, hearing the sound of sirens and seeing the flash of blue and red lights.

"About time." Marshall put his foot flat on the floor, pushing the truck as fast as it would go.

"What the hell are you doing?" Seth questioned when he noticed Marshall undoing his seatbelt.

"Everyone hold on tight."

"Marshall!" Seth exclaimed when he looked up and saw they were heading straight for a dumpster and were not slowing down at all.

At the last second, Marshall jerked the stirring wheel to the left, avoiding it by milliliters. Seth's grip tightened on the handle, hearing Marshall cry out in pain at the movement and a second later, he heard the sound of car behind them crashing to a halt.

Marshall braked hard, pulling up the handbrake, causing the truck to spin twice before coming to a stop, facing the other way. Seth looked over to Marshall but saw his son was already out of the car, his gun drawn.

"US Marshals! Freeze!" Marshall approached the car. "Hands where I can see them."

"Stay down until I come get you." Seth told Lucy and Danny before getting out the car, watching as the local police officers pulled the guys out of the car and cuffed them. "Marshall?"

"You okay?" He looked at his Dad.

"Fine…"

"Lucy and Danny?"

"They're fine too." Seth replied. "You?"

"I'm good." He nodded, lowering his gun watching as the last guy was led away. "The scene is secured…Why you don't go let them know it's all over."

"Marshall?"

He turned and saw Craig heading towards him and he glanced at his Dad once more. "I'll be right back."

"You all okay?" Craig questioned when he reached him.

"Yeah, thanks for getting us the backup so quickly."

"No worries…Heard you did some impressive driving back there." Craig stated.

Marshall shrugged, wincing as his muscles protested. "I'm used to it."

"You recognized any of those guys?"

"The driver and one other was there last night…The other three, if they were there then I don't remember them." He answered. "Did you find anything on them?"

"All armed with guns."

Marshall let out a sigh, thinking how much worse it could have all been.

"Can I watch the interviews?" He asked.

"You sure?" Craig frowned. "You don't want to get your family back home?"

"Dad can take care of them." Marshall replied. "I want to see this through."

"Well, I'm not going to stop you after everything you've done to help us." Craig answered. "You want to ride back with me?"

"Yeah, great…I'll just go let them know what's happening." When Marshall got back to the truck, Lucy and Danny were being helped out by Seth. "You guys okay?"

"What going on?" Lucy asked, tearfully.

"We were followed by some members of Collins' gang but its okay, we got them." He told them. "Did either you of get hurt?"

"No, I'm just shaken up, I guess." Lucy replied.

"Danny?" Marshall looked at his nephew, who just shook his head wordless. "Okay, good."

"You don't look too well." Seth commented, noticing the sweat on his forehead.

"Just the adrenaline…It's nothing." Marshall told him. "Listen, will you be okay getting them back home?"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to sit in on some of the interviews…"

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Dad, let me handle this, okay?" He ran a hand over his eyes; he was too tired to argue.

"Marshall…"

"Tell Mary I'll give her a call as soon as I can." Marshall said, cutting him off and patted Danny on the shoulder. "It'll be alright, Dan…We'll get this sorted."

"Do you really think he's alright?" Lucy asked Seth as they watched Marshall walk away.

"No but you know Marshall…Won't let any of us help." Seth replied with a sight.

_**XxXxX**_

Mary watched as Ashley, Sophie and Hannah were trying to decide what cakes they should get. They were taking a break from shopping and decided to grab a coffee. Mary had actually surprised herself when she accepted Helen's invitation to join them for the shopping trip because she absolutely hated shopping but she needed to get out of that house.

"So, are you looking forward to going back to work?" Helen asked Mary, breaking the awkward silence that had settled between them.

"Can't wait."

"What are you going to do with Jack?" She questioned causing Mary to look down at her son, who was fast asleep in his stroller.

"We haven't got all the details worked out just yet…" She told her.

Marshall had suggested they allow Jinx watch him when she wasn't working and send him to daycare when she was. Mary wasn't wild about this idea because she knew what it was like having Jinx taking care you of. However, unless one of them decided to be a stay at home parent or they put him in a daycare fulltime, they didn't have much of a choice.

"It's difficult going back to work…" Helen continued. "Even when you know you're leaving them with someone perfectly capable of looking after them, you can't help but feel they're not as safe as if they were with you."

Mary gave her a small smile; that was exactly how she felt.

"I'm sure you'll work it out…everyone has to eventually." Helen claimed, making sure to keep an eye on the girls. "And you have Marshall to help you."

"I know." Mary nodded, looking down at Jackson again. Thinking back to a few years ago, this would have been her worst nightmare. After the disastrous relationship with Raphael, getting married and having children was something were on her 'never to do' list but somehow Marshall had managed not to just change her mind but made her crave it. She wanted nothing more to be married to him. She wanted to be tied to him for the rest of her life so the three of them could officially be a family that nothing could ever break.

"He's really great with kids, you know…" Helen added. "They all love it when he gets chance to visit."

"I know he doesn't come here as often as everyone would like…."

"I wouldn't worry about that…I know Sarah has been making some comments while you've been here about him not being around enough but it's just how Marshall is."

"What do you mean by that?" Mary frowned a little.

"I've known him for a long time…I met Nathan at college, Marshall would have been about 10 at the time...He was a great kid….like a sponge, soaking up everything."

Mary couldn't help but smile; that did sound like Marshall.

"I remember thinking how sweet Nathan was with him…Not many college boys liked to hang out with their kid brother but then Chris was the same and I think there was a little bit of a competition involved." Helen told her. "Competing to see who to could teach him the best…Nathan wanted him to play football and Chris was always trying to get him to play basketball."

"Marshall did say they were close when they were younger."

"They were but to me it seemed like they were all pressuring Marshall to do what they felt was best for him." Helen explained. "Chris and Nathan are so similar…Both went to college here in Phoenix before joining the Marshal Service….Chris and Lucy met in college too and got married a year after leaving, same as me and Nathan…I think everyone assumed Marshall would follow in their footsteps."

"Except he decided to move away, not stay in one place for too long and wait until he was in his late 30s to settle down." Mary added.

"Even after all these years, they still don't understand it…He's not Chris or Nathan…Yes, he may have become a Marshal but in every other way, he's so different." Helen continued. "When he does come home, they treat him like they did when he was a kid and it's just pushing him further away."

"He never really talked about his family before." Mary admitted. "I never really gave it much thought to be honest…I never realized it was like this."

"Don't get me wrong, they do really care about him and would do anything to protect him. I guess that is what Chris' problem is at the moment….He's the eldest and his baby brother, the one that he used to spend so much time protecting had to come in save the day."

Mary had noticed how Marshall had become a distant since they had arrived, even with her. She wasn't used to having to drag information out of him but had put it down to all the stress he had been under.

"Mary, are you okay?" Helen questioned after a few minutes.

"Yeah, sure…" She nodded and jumped when her cell phone rang. "Sorry, I need to get this."

"Sure…" Helen smiled as Mary stood up and moved away from the table.

"Hey, Stan…What's up?"

"I thought you were meant to be on vacation."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your partner being involved in a big drug bust."

Mary sighed. "He convinced his nephew roll on the gang he's being hanging out with…so Marshall is just helping out."

"Why do I get the feeling that's not everything?"

"I'm worried about him, Stan?" She said quietly, glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening in.

"Who? Marshall?"

"He's dealing with it all himself….It's like he's shutting everyone out and I can't get through to him." She told him. "Last night, he went looking for Danny and took a beating off eight guys."

"What do you mean took a beating?" Stan questioned. "How bad?"

"I'm pretty sure he's broken several ribs and his hand…He says it not a big deal but I don't know…" She rubbed her eyes. "He didn't even go in there with his weapon out…"

Stan sighed. "Has he said anything to you at all?"

"Not much…He's spent a lot of time trying to sort out the mess is nephew is in but I got a feeling that it something other than that…I think he's using this to hide behind."

"Has he said anything about Allison?"

"Just how she called for some help with a case…"

"I've spoken to some more of my contacts…Sounds like everyone is impressed with the work he's been doing."

"So, they're going to offer him the job."

"That's the word."

"Wow."

"They haven't asked him yet, Mary…and he hasn't said it's something he would be interested in."

"I know."

"How's Jackson doing?" Stan changed the subjected. "Being spoiled I hope."

Mary looked back again and saw her son was still asleep. "He's doing good."

"Mary?"

"Listen, I should go…"

"Okay, well call me if you need anything." Stan told her. "Anything at all."

"Thanks, Stan…"

"And just remember, Marshall is one of the toughest people I know…he's been through a lot worse in the past and came out smiling." He told her. "And the thing with taking on that gang…It's what he does when someone he cares about is in danger…hell, he spent every day for six weeks going to taunt Lala until he got that information about your shooter….and just because they offer him the job, doesn't mean he'll take it…It won't be the first promotion he's turned down…."

There was silence on the line and Stan wondered whether Mary had already hung up.

"I'm sorry, back up a minute…" Mary finally said, shaking her a little. "What do you mean, this isn't this first promotion?"

"I uh…umm…you never…?"

"And he had back up when he went to see Lala…" Mary continued. "Didn't he?"

"Well, umm…I thought you…"

"Stan?" She cut him off.

"I thought he was working with ABQPD and I guess they assumed our office was handling it." He sighed. "I didn't find out until later that he was going there at least once a day, sometimes more…alone."

"They could have killed him! What was he thinking?"

"He felt lost, Mary…You were hurt and for a while it was touch and go…He wanted to be able to do something." Stan tried to explain. "I talked to him when I found out…Warned him if he ever pulled a stunt like that again, I would have his badge quicker than he could blink."

"Why didn't I know this?" She whispered.

"I don't know, Mare…there was a lot going on at the time…You had your family and Raphael around you then your engagement was broken off…" Stan trailed off. "He probably didn't want to make you anymore stressed…"

"And the promotions?"

"They required him to move to another office…He always said he was happy where he was." Stan explained. "Listen, the two of you have been through a lot together but its different now…You're getting married and have a kid…Don't over think this…Just talk to him about it…"

"Yeah."

"He loves you, Mary." Stan added. "I know you don't do well with feelings and whatnot but if there is one thing in this world you can be sure of, it is how much Marshall loves you."

"I know, Stan."

"Good."

"I'll speak to you soon."

"Bye."

Mary hung up the phone but did not move back to the table. She couldn't believe she never knew Marshall had been going to see Lala alone… He had also been the sensible one that went by the book and never did anything stupid…Was he really that effected by her shooting that he would risk his life to find the person who caused her so much pain? This was a new side to Marshall that she didn't know existed. Now something had happened to make him act like that again and when she thought about it, he had been acting distantly before they took the vacation.

"Mary?" Helen touched her shoulder. "I just got a call from Nathan…Something happened and we need to get back."

"What?"

"I don't know the details but apparently Marshall and the others were involved in a car chase on the way back home."

"What happened?"

"Nathan said they're all right but a bit shaken…we should get back there."

"Let's go." Mary was already walking back to the table to grab her stuff.

_**XxXxX**_

When they arrived back at the house, they found Sarah fussing over Lucy and Danny while Seth, Nathan and Chris were huddled together, deep in conversation.

"Is everyone okay?" Helen questioned, looking at her sister-in-law and nephew.

"We're fine." Lucy nodded, a little shakily.

"Where's Marshall?" Mary asked.

"He's with Detective Timmons…" Seth answered.

"Why?"

"Said something about wanting to help with interviews."

"And you let him?" She glared at him. "He's meant to be on vacation and is already hurt…"

"I didn't let him do anything!" Seth shot back. "He's a grown man and does what he pleases."

"He's lost his mind…that's what this is." Chris stated.

"Don't say that." Danny glanced up at his father.

"Daniel, you don't know the half of what's going on here…"

"I've been with him…I know more than you think." Danny got to his feet. "And he's only involved in this because of me…He saved me last night and he saved us again this afternoon…Uncle Marshall was great today, Dad."

"He was, Chris." Lucy added. "We have a lot to thank him for."

"He put himself and others in danger, trying to prove a point." Chris added. "It might have paid of this time but he not used to this kind of thing and should not have put himself in that position."

"There's stuff that happened in the past that you don't know about." Nathan explained with a quiet sigh.

Mary stared at the two of them in disbelief before look to Seth, waiting for him the set them right. "Unbelievable! And you wonder why he never wants to visit?"

"How dare you…"

Mary shook her head, ending the conversation and pulled her cell phone out as she left the room.

"Marshall, when you get this you better call me back! What the hell is going on with you?"

_**XxXxX**_

Marshall let himself into his parent's house at 10:35 that night, trying to close the front door as quietly as possible.

"If you're trying to sneak in then don't bother…"

He jumped and spun around to see Mary stood on the stairs.

"Hey."

"What the hell?" She walked down. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I lost track of time and then I wasn't sure if you would still be awake."

"Marshall, I swear to God, if you weren't already injured I would beat you myself…"

"Mare, I'm sorry…"

"You need to start talking to me…" She told him.

"I watched some of the interviews…"

"I'm not talking about that, Marshall…I'm not even talking about all this stuff happening with Danny." She interrupted. "What's going on?"

"Marshall?"

They both turned at the sound of Sarah's voice coming from the kitchen. Marshall sighed and reached out to take her hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Later." He promised.

"Fine but I'm not letting this go."

He gave a small nod and then dropped her hand before heading to the kitchen, where he found his parents sat with Danny at the table.

"You're all still awake?"

"We were waiting to hear from you." Seth told him.

"They spoke to the guys they arrested, they all rolled over on Collins…" Marshall explained. "They've got an operation arranged for tonight to bust him during a big deal that's going down."

"What happens now?" Danny questioned.

"Craig is going to call when they've got him and then after that, it's all over." He shrugged and pulled open the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

"And they have enough to take him down?" Seth asked.

"It's looking really good." Marshall leaned tiredly against the counter.

"Are you hungry?" Sarah jumped up. "I'll make you something…"

"No, Mom…I'm fine." He shook his head. "I don't think I can stomach anything…"

"You need to eat."

"And sleep." Mary added.

"I will…After I spoke to Craig."

"Marshall…"

"Mare, it won't be long." He told her. "Should get the call in the next hour or so."

"You know what? Fine…Goodnight."

"Mary…" He called out to her but she didn't turn around.

He groaned and let his head fall back, banging against the cupboard door.

"Well, I'm going to head to bed too." Seth stood up and reached to take Sarah's hand.

"But…"

"Leave the boy alone." He told his wife, knowing she would just fussy over Marshall which would only irate him.

"There are leftovers in the fridge, if you change your mind." Sarah told him. "Help yourself to anything."

"Thanks, Mom…"

"Don't stay up too late." Seth glanced between his son and Grandson.

"Night, Grandpa…Thanks for today." Danny said, softly.

"Goodnight."

Danny stood up and took the water bottle that Marshall was struggling with and opened it before handing it back to him.

"Thanks." He said, downing half the bottle. "It's getting late, you should get some sleep to."

"I want to wait to hear about the operation…" Danny replied. "If that's okay?"

"Sure." Marshall replied before pushing himself away from the counter with a groan. "But I need to sit down before I fall over."

Danny followed him out of the kitchen and into the living room. "You don't look too good."

"I'm just tired…Once this is over and I get some rest, I'll be as good as new." Marshall replied, sitting down on the couch and immediately regretting, knowing he will struggle to get back up. "So, how come you're here and not at home?"

"Dad and I had another fight and Grandma said I could stay here tonight."

"What did you fight about?"

"Nothing new." Danny said vaguely and normally Marshall would question him further but he just didn't have the energy.

"It'll all work out, Dan…" Marshall said softly. "Just give it time."

"I don't think he'll ever forgive me." Danny replied. "He hasn't been happy with me since I said I wasn't going to become a Marshal."

"He just wants you to be happy and do well, he'll come around to eventually…Being a US Marshal is an amazing experience and an honor, especially considering our family history but trust me, he wouldn't want you to do something that made you unhappy."

"I just…I don't think I could do it…" Danny admitted. "What would happen if I had to shot someone?"

"That is a possibility, yes…"

"I don't want to kill anyone, Uncle Marshall…" He repeated what he said the day before.

Marshall shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

"Have…have you?" Danny asked.

"Maybe this is a conversation you should be having with your Dad…" Marshall suggested.

"I mean, it's your job right?" Danny said quickly. "It's not like you wanted to hurt anyone but you have to do your job…"

Marshall was saved from answering by his cell phone ringing. He glanced at Danny quickly, who was still staring at him before answering.

"Marshall…Yeah…That's great…Good job…I'll speak to you tomorrow." When he ended the call, he looked at his nephew again but this time smiled slightly. "They got him…its over."

Danny sighed in relief. "Thank you, Uncle Marshall…for everything."

"Just don't do anything like this again and we'll call it even." Marshall told him. "Now get to bed….It's getting late."

Danny nodded and stood up but when he reached the doorway he turned back around. "What I said before, about killing…"

"Go to bed, Danny."

Danny stood there for a few second, just watching his uncle but Marshall wouldn't look at him. "Okay then….goodnight."

Marshall took a few deep breaths but that only caused him to cough and he cried out, holding his ribs in agony. He leaned his back against the couch and decided to stay there for another few minutes before forcing himself back to his feet to go up upstairs but as soon as his eyes closed, his was sleep.

_He could hear Mary calling him but he couldn't find her…He walked around the office but there was no else there. Not Stan, not Delia and no Mary either. But he kept hearing her, calling him name. He jumped at the sound of gun fire and immediately dived behind his desk, shouting out Mary's name. She called back, begging him to help her and he stood up again but when he did, saw a woman with her back to him. _

"_Mary?" _

_When the woman turned around, he was shocked to see it was Abigail._

"_Marshall…" Her eyes were filled with tears. "Marshall, help me…"_

_He frowned and looked down to see her hands covered in blood._

"_What…what happened?" _

"_My heart….help me…Marshall?" _

_He stepped towards her when he heard Mary calling him again and turned to see her led on the floor, Jack crying beside her._

"_Mary…" He went in her direction when someone grabbed his arm. "Let go of me…" _

"_Sorry, Inspector…not this time." Allison shook her head, tightening her grip on his arm. _

"_Let me go, I got to help Mary…" He tried to pull free from her but couldn't._

"_You've got to help your witnesses…" She told him, point to the window where he could see a fire burning outside. _

"_What…I don't understand what's happening." _

"_You got to save the witnesses…you got to do your job…" _

"_Marshall, help me….my heart…" _

_He looked at Abigail again and saw her white shirt had turned red with blood. _

"_No…no…let me help her." _

"_Too late, inspector…" Stan appeared, his head buried in a folder. "You've already killed her." _

"_No, I can help her." He finally got his arm free from Allison._

"_What about Mary?" Stan looked up at him._

"_Mary?" He turned again and she had disappeared but Jack was still crying. "Mary?"_

_Allison shook her head. "Do your job, Inspector." _

_He glared at her but turned back when Jack stopped crying and saw Mark picking him up then heading for the exit. _

"_No, he's my son!" Marshall shouted and ran towards them but Mark didn't stop. _

"_Marshall, what are you doing?" His father stepped in to block his path. _

"_He's got my son!"_

_Mark just laughed as the elevator doors slide shut. _

"_He's not yours, Marshall…never was." _

"_But…" _

"_Marshall?" He could hear Mary again and spun around to look for her. _

"_Mary?" _

"_Marshall…." _

"_You're a US Marshal…it's about time you acted like it." Seth turned him to face him again. _

"_What?" _

"_Inspector, we're waiting for you." Allison tapped her watch. _

"_For what?" _

"_The bridge is going to explode again…"_

"_What bridge?" Marshall questioned. _

"_Marshall…" _

"_What bridge?" He stepped towards Allison again._

"_Marshall?" _

"_You've got to do your job, Inspector or people will die because of you…" _

"_No...no…"_

"_Marshall…" _

"_Just like Mary…like Abigail…like Jackson…" _

"_No, stop it!" _

"_Marshall!" _

Marshall sat up straight, gasping for air.

"Marshall, calm down…it was just a nightmare…" Mary tried to sooth him but she really concerned about him.

"Mary?"

"Shhh, it's alright…its okay." She ran a hand through his damp hair.

"You…I couldn't…" He stuttered.

"Just breathe…" She said gently, moving her hand down to his chest and alarmed at speed she could feel his heart beating. "Marshall, listen to me…You need to relax…"

"Mary…" He blinked at her, trying to focus. His eyes shining with tears."Mare, I think I'm losing my mind…"

_**TBC**_

_**Another cliffhanger…I'm sorry! Please review!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, thank you for all the reviews, story alerts and favorite stories! Please keep them coming! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

Mary stared back at him for a few seconds, stunned. She had never seen him like this before. He looked absolutely terrified and lost.

"Marshall, just breathe, okay." She told him again, placing one hand on his cheek and the other on his chest, being mindful of his injures. "Please, Marshall….Just look at me and breathe."

He blinked a few times, trying to focus and then locked his eyes with hers. He took a couple of deep, shaky breaths and reached out to her, gripping onto her t-shirt with both hands.

"That's it…you're okay…it was just a dream….I'm here." She whispered, making sure to keep eye contact and was relieved to see he was calming down, slowly. "You're safe…I'm safe…Jackson's safe…Danny's safe…Everyone is safe."

"They're not though." He whispered his voice rough. "No one ever safe…Otherwise we would be out of a job."

"Marshall….People are safe because of what we do…Because of you…Because of how good you are at your job, at being my partner, at being a Dad and Uncle."

"Do you really think that?"

"Yes." She replied with hesitation. "If there is one thing in this whole world that I have 100 percent belief in…It's you."

"Mare…" His voice cracked with emotion and tears shone in his eyes.

"Shhh, it's okay." She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips, when she pulled back she brushed away a few tears that had escaped and rolled down his face. "I'm so sorry…"

He frowned a little. "Why are you sorry? I should be sorry…I should be stronger…"

"No, you are strong…you're the strongest person I know." She cut him off. "But until this past week or so, I forgot that you're human too…I rely on you being strong no matter what…but you know what? You need to stop…You need a break from everything because I know you'll keep on giving until you have nothing left."

"It's just…." He started but then stopped.

"What? What is it?" Mary pressed.

"It's just lack of sleep and too much work." He looked down and loosened his grip on her. "You're right, I need a break."

"And you need to stop thinking you can solve everyone's problems." She added.

"I know…" He brought his hands up to rub his eyes but then winced in pain.

"Wait here." She stood up and went into the kitchen.

She leaned back on the counter and took a couple of deep breaths. In all the years she had known him, she had never seen him breakdown like that and she knew a big part of it was pure exhaustion but she also knew there was something he was holding back. She knew it wouldn't get any better until he spoke about whatever it was that was bothering him but she didn't know whether or not she should push him about it tonight. He was obviously in a lot of pain and after everything that had happened today, it might be a good idea to just let him rest up before dealing with everything else.

She pulled opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water then got some painkillers and a couple of icepacks for him too. If he was going to rest then she needed to take control of everything otherwise he would never give it up.

"Here, take these." She said softly, handing him the painkillers and then the water after she unscrewed the lid.

"Thanks, my ribs are protesting against all that deep breathing." He quip weakly as he swallowed the tablets.

Mary didn't smile in reply but gently pushed him to lie down before pushing up his shirt and placing an icepack on the worst of the bruising.

He flinched when it touch his skin and just watched as she put the second icepack on his injured hand.

"It looks worse than last night." She commented.

"I probably aggravated it driving."

"I want to take you to the hospital…"

"Mare, we talked about this and agreed…"

"No, we talked about this and we disagreed." She corrected. "Marshall, you've had a lot to cope with and admit yourself you need break so let me take care of this…let me take care you."

"They will just say it's bruising…." He sighed.

"Then what's the harm in going?" She questioned. "You said the other day, you liked my domesticated side and at the moment I'm playing the concerned girlfriend part where I get to take care of you…So please…let me,"

He stared at her for a few seconds before nodding slightly. "Okay."

"Good…I'm going to get dressed and get Jackson ready…You wait here." She kissed him on the forehead then rushed out the room, so he couldn't change his mind.

She wasn't used to being calm and understanding to get her own way but she knew that was what Marshall needed her to do. She managed to get dressed in record breaking time and made sure Jackson was dressed in clothes what would keep him warm enough. She was glad to find Marshall where she left him, staring up at the ceiling.

"Ready?" She asked.

He slowly stood up, his arm cradling his ribs. He had to admit, they were more painful now than before. "Yeah, I guess."

She reached out her free hand to take his uninjured one. "Come on."

He gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"I do actually but don't spread it around; people will want to be my friend."

He couldn't help but laugh as she pulled him towards the door. "No, you only need one friend and that's me."

"Damn right." She replied, glancing back at him.

_**XxXxX**_

When they returned back to Marshall's parent's house, the sun was already shining and both of them wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed.

"You think he's going to let us sleep at all?" Mary questioned as she killed and engine and turned to look at Jackson who was wide awake.

"I think once he's had food he'll want to crash to." Marshall replied.

"You know you're mother wants us all to go out today because we couldn't go to the park yesterday, right?"

"I thought she might but I don't think I could if I wanted to." He yawned. "Those painkillers the doctor subscribed are going to knock me off my feet."

"I'm sure they'll understand."

"I'm sure they won't." He let out a laugh. "But I say we stay awake long enough to feed Jack and have breakfast with them all, then sleep the day away."

"Sounds like a plan to me." She agreed. "We should call Stan too."

"What for?"

"I spoke to him yesterday and kind of unloaded on him." She answered. "He's probably wondering what's going on."

"We'll call him after breakfast."

"Also, he's been doing some digging on what Pearson is up to…"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, seems like congratulations are in order…"

"Excuse me?" His eyebrows rose.

"Stan's contacts told him they want to offer you a promotion." She explained. "With some sort of elite Wit-Sec team….It would mean several title bumps."

"Mare, I promise you, I never applied for a new position." He said quickly. "I wouldn't do that without talking to you…"

"I know that, idiot." She rolled her eyes. "But it explains why she's been testing you lately."

"I guess but right now I don't care…" He sighed. "Can we talk about it later?"

"Sure." She nodded, noticing again how he dodge an issue.

"Let's get this over with."

She grabbed Jack from his car seat and frowned a little when she saw Marshall hesitated at the front door.

"Okay?" She asked when she reached him.

"Yeah, sure." He pushed open the door and stepped into the house.

Mary was surprised to hear the sound of kids laughing and joking around, not realizing they would be there already but she was also relived; it meant they could eat quicker and get to bed sooner.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, everyone fell silent and looked at them. They all had pancakes, bacon and eggs piled high on their plates and all the kids smiled when they saw their uncle, except Danny who was watching his food as he pushed around with his fork.

"Good morning…" Marshall said, breaking the awkward silence. He moved his eyes down to the end of the table where his brothers and Father was sat. Seth was hidden behind the newspaper, like he was every morning. Nathan was watching him closely, as if he was unsure what his younger brother would do. Chris wouldn't even look up; he still looked as annoyed as he was the day before.

"You were up early…" Sarah commented, moving over to him and kissed his cheek.

"I saw sense and allowed Mary to take me the hospital." He informed her.

"Is everything okay?" Lucy asked, in concerned.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about." He shrugged, sitting down slowly.

"Three broken ribs, two cracked, three broken fingers and a fractured wrist are not nothing to worry about!" Mary glared at him slightly. "Never mind all the other bruising and cuts…."

"Let me get you some coffee…" Helen offered, jumping up from her seat.

"No coffee…We haven't been to sleep yet so after we eat we're going to crash." Marshall announced, looking around the room to see if anyone would protest and he could see his Mother was about to but changed her mind.

"Juice?" Mary asked, looking at him.

"Thanks." He nodded and reached to take Jack from her, who wriggled out of her arms so he could get Marshall.

Mary sighed but knew it was pointless saying anything. Marshall had wanted Jack close by all night and part of Mary could understand that, she was just worried it would hurt himself even more. She was actually more concerned by his mental state then his physical injuries. She thought after his breakdown he would start opening up but all it seemed to have done is embarrassed him and making shut down even more.

"So, you're not coming to our panic, Uncle Marshall?" Hannah asked.

"I'm sorry, Princess…Maybe we can do something tomorrow."

"Can we go on a car chase with you?" Michael questioned, excitedly.

"Michael…." Helen gave him a warning look.

"What? Danny got to go on a car chase!" He replied and looked to his older cousin. "Did you go really fast?"

"Michael Christopher!" Nathan cut him off.

"What?"

"It wasn't cool or fun or exciting…" Danny muttered. "I was scared out of mind."

"Okay, that's enough now…" Sarah placed some more pancakes in the center of the table.

"I spoke to Detective Timmons this morning…" Danny continued, looking over at Marshall. "He suggested I see someone…Like a therapist."

"What's a therapist?" Hannah questioned.

"A doctor for crazy people."

"Michael Christopher!" Nathan and Helen said at the same time.

"It's someone you talk to when you've been through something scary." Mary explained, glancing at Marshall in surprise that he hadn't jumped in. "Danny, I will admit, although I hate it…It does sometimes help to talk about what you've been through."

He nodded a little then moved his eyes back to Marshall. "What do you think?"

"I don't know, Dan…" Marshall shrugged and sighed tiredly. "Mary's right, it does help some people but you have to willing to do it for it to work."

"Did you see one?" He questioned further. "After you were shot?"

"What are you talking about?" Chris' head snapped up. "Marshall was never shot…"

"But…"

"Sweetheart, you must be mistaken." Sarah patted his shoulder. "We would know if your Uncle had been shot…"

Mary stared at Marshall with her mouth open but he refused to look away from feeding Jack. Why would he not tell his family that he had been close to dying? She vaguely remembered thinking it was strange that she never saw any of them during his recovery but she had mainly just been happy he was alive.

"Marshall?" Seth questioned, finally lowering the paper to look at his youngest son.

"What?"

"Is he wrong?"

"Does it matter?" He pushed himself to his feet to grab a cloth to clean Jack's face. "It was five years ago."

"What?"

"Oh my god!"

"Cool! Do you have a scar?"

"Michael!"

"Can we see it?"

"Jacob!"

"Okay, everyone calm down…It was nothing." Marshall replied. "I was in hospital for a little over a week and then spent five weeks in a sling with no lasting damage."

Mary wondered whether that was true or not. She still had nightmares about her shooting and she barely remembered anything about it. Marshall had been awake pretty much the whole time they were trapped in that gas station.

"I don't believe this…" Chris shook his head. "Who are you?"

"Chris, calm down…" Lucy placed a hand on his arm.

"I mean, you say you want to be a US Marshal…You want to honor this family's legacy but nothing you do makes sense."

"Not now, Chris." Marshall told him.

"Family is important to you, so you say but you're never around…After everything we done for you."

"Everything you done for me?" Marshall repeated.

"Nathan and I were always there…."

"Always interfering!" Marshall interrupted. "Always making the decisions for me!"

"Hey, that's fair!" Nathan exclaimed.

"Marshall…" Mary stood up to stand beside him. She was there for whatever he needed, whether it was to step in and stop this or be on his side.

"You take a cushy job when apparently you're more than capable to doing what real US Marshals do and it makes me wonder whether you're doing it because of what happened to that kid or because you're just too damn lazy!" Chris continued.

"Okay, Chris…Cool it!" Lucy said firmly, glancing at the kids who were watching with uncertainty and curiosity.

"You don't know what you're talking about…" Marshall shook his head.

"I think that's why you're never here…because you're ashamed…Ashamed that we'll see the perfect Marshall fail at something the rest of us can all do."

"Stop!" Mary stepped forward so she was in front of Marshall.

Marshall stared at Chris but he couldn't see him. His mind were stuck on his words…Fail….He had failed. Despite all his efforts and hard work there was also someone else who suffered when he failed….

He failed at being a decent human and allowed Abigail to fall in love with him and then he crushed her heart.

He failed to notice Norman Baker was struggling with his demons so much that he felt the only way out was to end his life and he had let…He had watched.

He failed at being there for his family, never visiting, never letting them get to know the real him.

He failed Mary countless times…Failed to protect from kidnappers, shooters and men who were not good enough for her.

"Seth, do something!" Sarah looked at her husband, who was reading the paper again.

"Christopher, leave your brother alone." Seth did not even lower the paper. "He's doing what makes him happy."

"Taking the easy way out?" Nathan questioned. "You never gave us a break…What makes him so special?"

"I don't like this talk…" Sarah claimed, close to tears. "You're brothers!"

Marshall took a couple of deep breaths and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

"We haven't been brothers for a long time." Chris replied. "Not since he decided he was too good to stick around here and had to go off somewhere else to get his fancy college education…"

"That's what you think?" Marshall frowned. "You think I think I'm too good?"

"Look, let's just stop this and have a nice breakfast." Sarah cut in again. "It's not very often I have all my boys here…please don't spoil it."

Marshall continued to stare at his brothers in astonishment. He never knew they felt that way about him.

"Marshall?" Mary put a hand on his arm, trying to gain his attention.

"I'm going to take Jack up…see if he can get some sleep."

No one spoke to stop him as he left the room and when Mary heard him walking up the stairs; she turned to look at Danny and Ashley.

"Why don't you guys take your brothers and sisters to watch TV?" She suggested.

"No, they're staying right there until they've finished their breakfast!" Chris insisted.

"Oh I'm sorry…Did you want your kids around to hear me call you a moron!" Mary snapped back, sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest.

"Okay…kids, grab your plates and go watch some cartoons!" Lucy jumped up and started to usher them out the room.

"I want to watch this!"

"Michael, you're going to be grounded for a month if you don't shut your mouth!" Helen pushed her son out of the kitchen.

Danny was the last one out, hesitating in the doorway. He felt responsible for all of this and wanted to help fix it but didn't know how.

"How dare you speak to me like that?" Chris glared at her.

"Are you completely insane?" She threw her hands up in the air. "Have you all lost your minds?"

"Mary, please understand Marshall and his brothers used to be so close…" Sarah started.

"No, what you all need to understand is that Marshall is not a kid anymore…He's a grown man…A good man." She claimed. "Who is great at his job…"

"It's not that hard to sit at a desk and watch CCTV cameras…" Nathan muttered.

"Hey asshole, you don't get shot when you're on desk duty." Mary turned her glare to him and then to the newspaper that was still hiding Seth. She reached out and grabbed the top, tearing it away from him. "You want to jump in here at all?

"And say what?" Seth questioned.

"Uh, I don't know…Something to defend your son?"

"Mary, Marshall made a choice and it's up to him to tell people…"

"Bullshit!" She interrupted. "He never told you what he does and you worked it out…Apparently, these two clowns are credible US Marshals but they believe some lame ass story about the court house?"

"What do you mean, what he does?" Nathan looked between Mary and his Father. "Dad?"

"You know, when you came to Albuquerque and I saw how strained your relationship was Marshall really was but then at the end, I thought things had changed…I thought you understood him a little bit more."

"I'll say now what I told you back then…Marshall came into this world with a mind of his own…"

"Yeah, he did and right now that mind is nearing breaking point!"

"I'm sorry?"

"I get you don't understand him…Hell, half the time I don't understand what goes through that crazy mind of his but please tell you me you noticed something is not right…Please tell me you can actually tell that he's not himself at the moment."

"Mary?"

She turned around and saw Marshall stood in the doorway looking at her questionable.

"I thought you went upstairs…"

"I heard shouting…"

"Marshall, what the hell is going on?" Chris asked.

"I don't…" He started but looked back to his fiancée. "Mare?"

"I can't do this anymore…" She shook her head. "YOU can't do this anymore."

"Do what?" He questioned but was terrified of the answer.

"Everything, Marshall…You can't keep doing everything!" She spun around to face him, forgetting that anyone else was in the room. "And I can't do anything without you."

He moved to her in two big steps, placing his hands on her arms. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Marshall…"

"I don't care about that job…I don't care about the promotion." He continued. "I'm not leaving you or Jack…ever."

"You can promise that." She whispered. "You can't promise me forever."

"I can."

"No, you can't…" She shook her head. "You know why?"

"Mary…"

"Because you could die." Tears filled her eyes at the thought of it. "You will take a bullet for anyone….people who you care about, people who you hate, even people you don't even know…You would do and have done it because you're good at your job."

Marshall stared at her; he wanted to assure her that he would be okay. That it would never happen but he knew it was a lie. They had both already came too close to their own fate and although it wasn't something he wished to experience again, he knew there was a chance he would have to. It was their job…It's what they did.

"I was never scared of being with you because you I thought you would walk away from me like everyone else…I knew you wouldn't but you could die, Marshall…" Tears started to fall now and she gripped onto his shirt tightly, just like he had done last night. "I get that it's what the job is…I understand that and I'm so proud and honored to be partnered with you but you promised me, Marshall….in the gas station when you were fighting to stay alive with the help of a windscreen wiper tube and half a bottle of water…You promise me you would try not die…"

"For you." He whispered. "I promised I would try not to die for you."

"Then you have to stop taking on the world…" She claimed. "You have to stop taking on gangs of drug dealers…"

"Danny needed me…."

"What about Lala?"

Marshall froze for a second before his jaw tensed. Just the mention of that name brought back memories that were too painful to even think about.

"He could have killed you…and no one would have known what happened to you…I would never have known…I would have had to live my life wondering where you went." She continued.

"He had the information…"

"That doesn't matter."

"It does!" Marshall insisted. "It did."

"You matter…You being alive matters!"

"I am…I can take care of myself."

"This is what I'm talking about!" She said in frustration, stepping away from him. "You take care of everyone else but you don't let anyone take care of you…"

"Mare…"

"You get shot in your chest and your first thought his to stand up and protect me…You ran into unstable building that's ready to crumble…You took a headful of glass to cover me from sniper fire…You used your vacation time to escort a mob member back home because you feel sorry for the old man…You constantly put your badge and life on the line for me and other people…."

"And I always will."

"I know and you know I would do the same for you." She whispered. "But I don't know if I can live like this, Marshall…I don't know if can live with the terror I feel every time you go off on a job…."

"Okay, you two have lost your minds!" Chris interrupted, startling them both out of their own little world.

"Chris, leave it." Seth told him, firmly.

Mary turned and looked at Marshall's family. She had completely forgotten they were there. She brushed a few stray tears of her face as she felt her cheek redden with embarrassment.

"I um…I…" She looked helplessly at Marshall when she heard Jack crying, upstairs. "I should get him."

"Mary…." Marshall reached out a hand to stop but she pulled away from him and ran up the stairs.

"Someone needs to explain what's going on!" Nathan stated.

"Marshall, sweetheart…Are you okay?" Sarah placed a hand on his cheek.

"I need to talk to Mary…"

"You need to talk to us!" Chris grabbed his arm to stop him from leave.

Marshall tensed as pain shot through his arm and pure instinct took over. Grabbing the hand that held him with his good hand, he reversed the hold and pushed Chris back, who hit the kitchen table.

"Marshall!"

"Stop!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Nathan pulled Marshall away.

He stumbled into the wall and doubled over in pain.

"Hey, you okay?" Seth moved over to him, placing at hand on his shoulder.

Marshall looked up and saw everyone watching him with a mixture of shock, concern and wariness.

"I got…I need to get out of here…" He muttered, stumbling into the hallway.

"Marshall!" Seth called out but the only reply he got was the sound of the front door slamming.

**TBC**

**Okay, so both Mary and Marshall finally lost it with his brothers but there's still more to come! Please review! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, sorry it's taken so long to update this! I've struggled a bit with this chapter and changed it so many times. I hope you like it! Please review! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

Marshall made it to the end of the street before stopping and turning back around to stare at his parents' house. He couldn't believe he had lost it like that in front of everyone. He couldn't believe he let Mary walk away without following her. He always followed her.

"Marshall?"

The voice behind startled him and he turned around quickly, to see Libby Roachman, an elderly lady who lived across the street.

"I'm sorry; dear…I never meant to scare you." She chuckled lightly but stopped when she got a good look at him. "Oh my, looks like you've been getting into some trouble…"

"Occupational hazard." Marshall replied, managing to force a small smile.

"Ah, the life of a US Marshal." Libby nodded understandingly. "I heard you were back for a few days and I'm glad I got the chance to say hello…It's been a long time."

"Yeah, I've been quite busy in New Mexico."

"I heard you got yourself a nice young lady too…" She smiled. "Your mother was telling me all about her a few months back…Abigail, A detective, right? Sarah was quite excited about the possibility of a wedding."

"Uh well…things didn't work out with Abby." Marshall found himself admitting.

"Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that…"

"No, it's fine…" Marshall said quickly. "It was for the best…I'm actually engaged now."

"Oh well, congratulations…" Libby said but Marshall could tell she was surprise at the news.

"Her name is Mary…We were best friends for years…." He felt like he had to explain. "We have a son, Jackson."

"You certainly have been busy." Libby shook his head slightly. "I glad you've found someone to settle down with…She's a lucky lady….You were always such a nice boy."

Marshall's smile was genuine this time. "Thanks, Mrs. Roachman…But I'm the lucky one."

"Such a nice, sweet boy…" Libby sighed gently and patted his arm gently. "It was nice seeing you, Marshall."

"You too."

"If you get time…I would love to meet your girl and son before you leave."

"We'll try and stop by."

"You take care now." She told him before slowly crossing the road to her own house.

Marshall sighed and watched her go. His Mother and Libby Roachman gossiped about everything, whether it was about their families, celebrities or other people on the street…not matter what it was, they talked about it. So, why hadn't his mom mentioned Mary or Jack to her? His mom had wanted nothing more than for him to get married and have children. Why wasn't she happy for him? Why did none of his family accept Mary or Jack? He knew if it came down to it, he would not hesitate in cutting his family out of his life. He loved them and would do anything for them but he refused to let the woman he loved and his son feel like outsiders around them.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes, ignoring the pain that it caused. He needed to get some sleep and he needed to talk to Mary. She needed to know that Jack and she was his first priority, no matter what.

When he entered the house, Danny was sat on the stairs but stood up when he saw him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" Marshall replied. "I just needed some fresh air."

"Uncle Marshall, I'm sorry I got your dragged into this…"

"Danny, forget it…It's isn't about you…This is other stuff."

"Marshall?" Chris appeared. "Want to explain what the hell is going on?"

"What do you want me say, Chris?" Marshall sighed loudly, pushing past him to get into the kitchen. His head was throbbing and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he took some painkillers. "I don't work in the courthouse and I can't tell you where I do work. I was shot in the line of duty five years ago and almost died in the middle of nowhere… I have come top of every class, course, and exams that there is to take…every day I put risk my life to save others."

"And you knew all this?" Chris turned to his father.

"Some."

"You let us believe he was miserable in New Mexico."

"If you ever talked to me or visited you could have worked out for yourself I was happy." Marshall snapped. "But that would be admitting I had accomplished something on my own without my big brothers helping me!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Nathan stepped to stand by Chris' side.

"And while we're on it…Even if I was working court security, I would still be a Marshal…Someone has to do that job and it doesn't mean they're wimping out of their duty!"

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Nathan questioned. "You never used to be like this…"

"What's gotten into me?" Marshall repeated. "Maybe it's the fact I got the crap beaten out of me two night ago…maybe it's the fact I've worked none stop for the past six months, doing two peoples job…Maybe it's because the only thing in my life that feels right at the moment is Mary and Jack but no one in my family will even acknowledge them!"

"Oh, Marshall, that's not true…" Sarah claimed.

Marshall spun around to face her. "I just spoke to Mrs. Roachman…She knows all about Abigail but nothing about Mary or Jack…"

"Well, it's just never came up."

"I know you, Mom…I know what the two of you are like." Marshall replied. "There's a reason why you never told her."

"Marshall…"

"I'm marrying her, Mom…and Jackson is my son, no matter what happens." Marshall cut her off. "You all better start accepting that or…"

"Or what?" Chris questioned. "You'll turn your back on us? On your own family?"

"They're my family too." Marshall hit back, calmly.

"Okay, you want to know the reason why we haven't made an effort with her?" Chris asked. "You want to know the real reason?"

"Chris, stop it." Seth stood up from the table and walked over to his eldest and youngest sons, who were millimeters apart.

"Because there's no point…she's using you…" Chris claimed. "That kid's dad ran on it and she needs someone to step into their place…Who better than the guy that has followed her around like a puppy for the past 9 years!"

Marshall didn't say anything in reply; instead he lunched at his brother for the second time in an hour, his fist connecting hard with Chris right eye.

"You know nothing about Mary and me…You don't know what we've been through together and you don't need to know…all you need to know is that I love her and she loves me." Marshall stated, glaring down at Chris, who was on the floor but then glanced up at everyone else who was staring in shock. "I'm sorry if I've disappoint any of you but I'm living my life the way I want…."

"Marshall." Seth called and followed him out of the kitchen.

"You're just going to run away?"

"No, Dad…I'm going to walk away." He replied, before disappearing up the stairs.

Seth slammed his hand to the wall. He could not work out why he had so much trouble talking to Marshall.

_**XxXxX**_

Marshall entered the bedroom he was sharing with Mary and found her stood, bouncing a crying Jack. His eyes then moved to the bed, where her suitcase was open and half full.

"Mary…" His looked between her and the case, leaning back against the door, closing it firmly. "You…..You can't leave me."

"Marshall…" She said softly, the look on his face and the sound of his voice broke her heart a little bit. "I'm not leaving you."

"You're packed and ready to go."

"I'm leaving Phoenix, yes…" She admitted. "But not you…I'll be at home, waiting for you."

"I'll come with you."

"You need to talk to your family." She claimed. "I'm just getting in the way."

"It may be too late for that."

"What?" She frowned. "What happened?"

"Chris…he said some things…and I said some things…."

"And?" Mary prompted when he trailed off.

"And I hit him."

"What? Marshall!"

He ran a hand down his face and then winced in pain. "I just…I couldn't..."

"Marshall, what is going on with you?" She asked.

"He crossed a line."

"But hitting him? That's not like you."

"I don't feel like me, anymore, Mare…" He admitted looking down. "The only time I do is when I'm around you and Jack…So when people start judging us…You…I can't just stand by and that it."

"Marshall." She whispered. "They're your family…I don't want to come between you and them."

He shook his head a little. "You're not…It's them."

She sighed and sat down on the bed, placing Jack on her lap before gently taking Marshall's right wrist with her free hand and pulling him down next to her.

"So, what do you want to do?" She asked, entwining her fingers with his.

"I don't know."

"When was the last time you took some painkillers?"

"I was about when it all kicked off again."

"Wait here and I'll go get you some." She led Jack down on the bed, beside Marshall.

"We should just get packed and get out of here…"

"You're in no fit state to endure a 7 hour car journey." She interrupted. "Let me get you some painkillers and then we'll see how you feel."

"Is this you doing your domesticated side again?" He asked, a small smile tugging on his lips.

"You got a problem with that?"

"Not at all."

"Good answer." She stood up. "I'll be right back."

She was halfway down the stairs when Seth appeared and Mary paused, eyeing him cautiously.

"Marshall left these in the kitchen." Seth cleared his throat, awkwardly, holding up the packet of painkillers and a glass of water. "I thought he might need them."

"Yeah, he does." Mary held her hand at for them.

"Look, Mary… I know over the last few years, Marshall has drifted away from this family but there's more isn't there?" He asked. "Something else is going on with him, right?"

"I don't know what to tell you." Mary replied, honestly.

Seth sighed and ran hand over his face. "I worry about him…always have."

"There is obviously something going on between Marshall, Chris and Nathan that I don't know about, he hasn't really talked to me about them but after your visit a few years back, I know he felt closer to you." Mary told him. "If you want my advice though, don't push him…He's got way too much on his plate at the moment and won't hesitate in turning his back on people who aren't being support of him…You are all so close to losing him."

"I know." Seth nodded. "He said he was leaving…"

"I'm going to get him to go to sleep for a few hours first...maybe after that he'll be thinking more clearly and be willing to talk to you."

"Sarah wanted to go out for the day so I'm going to make sure that we do then we'll go for dinner…You can have the house to yourself."

"I appreciate that."

Seth gave a single nod and then turned, heading back down the stairs.

When Mary returned to the bedroom, she couldn't help but smile when she saw Marshall led on his side, staring down at Jack who was on his back, waving his legs and arms around, staring at the ceiling.

"He still not asleep?" Mary sat on the bed.

"He's routine is all out of whack…It's confused him." Marshall reached out and caught one of Jack's fists.

"Maybe the three of us should take a nap."

He glanced up at her. "I'd rather just get out of here."

"I spoke to your Dad…he said everyone is heading out for the day so no one will bother us." She told him. "You need sleep."

Marshall sighed. "Yeah, okay."

"Here," She handed him the water and tablets.

"You know, you're better at this taking care of people stuff then you give yourself credit for." He sat up, throwing a couple of pills into his mouth and downed the water.

"Shut up and go to sleep."

Marshall rolled his eyes but was smiling. "Well, most of the time anyway."

Mary moved up the bed, lying on her side so she could see both Marshall and Jack.

"Do you want me to quit?" He asked, quietly.

"What?"

"I could get a job doing anything…I have a friend who keeps offering me a job as head of his IT security." He informed her. "It would mean I could work at home some of the time and be with Jack plus there's no danger of getting killed."

"Marshall, no…" She shook her head. "You're not quitting because of me…I would never ask you to do that."

"But I would." He insisted. "What you said earlier about me leaving…about dying…"

"Marshall…"

"I'm terrified, Mare…" He cut her off from interrupting him. "I'm terrified that I will let you down."

"I shouldn't have said that." She sighed. "I should never have put more pressure on you."

She reached over Jack to cup his cheek and he leaned into her touch. How has she never seen this side to him before? They had been best friends for almost nine years. He had always been her calm, cool, geeky, confident partner. How had she not realized that deep down he was actually insecure and desperately trying to please everyone?

"You're good, Marshall…At everything you try, you're really good." She told him. "But you don't have to be perfect…I never fell in love with perfect, I fell in love with you…Do you understand?"

"I do know you love me." He replied. "It's the only thing I am sure of."

"Everything will be fine." She assured him. "Go to sleep and we're talk about this more later."

"I just…you need to know that you and Jack come first…No matter what."

"I do know." She said. "And the same goes for you."

She pushed herself up and leaned across to kiss him. Her thumb moved in circles slowly on his cheek as she deepened the kiss, causing him to moan quietly.

Jack let out a small whimper, causing them to break apart and look down at him.

"No getting frisky with the baby in the bed." Marshall looked over at her, smirking.

"Like you even have the energy."

"I always have the energy for that." He shot back.

"Yeah right, you might have but I don't so nap first."

"You're the boss." He shrugged and led on his back. He scooped Jack up and placing his chest, ignoring the pain; he just wanted his little boy close. He glanced at Mary, waiting for her to reprimand him for it before instead she moved closer to him and settled her head on his shoulder.

He kissed the top of her head and sighed, contently, letting his eyes drift shut.

**TBC**

**Please review! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, here's the next chapter! Thank you so much for the reviews! Please keep them coming! Hopefully this chapter will get things more out into the open for Marshall! I hope you like it! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

When Marshall woke the next morning, he just led there with his eyes closes for a few minutes. His ribs didn't hurt as much and the headache he had consistently for the past four days was gone. He rolled onto his side and slowly opened his eyes, smiling a little when he saw Mary was still fast asleep. After their talk, the three of them had slept for a solid seven hours. Then Marshall took them out for something to eat and showed them around the town a little bit. When they got back to the house, his parents still weren't home and didn't return until almost 10pm; by that time they were back in his room, watching a movie. He had heard his dad, telling his mom to leave them alone until morning and Marshall was grateful that he didn't have to face them.

He looked up at the clock, seeing it was only 7:15am, he was surprised at how rested he felt. He sat up and carefully stretched, groaning a little when his muscles protested. He knew since it was Monday, his nieces and nephews would have school so his brothers would not be coming over this morning, which meant Mary and him had a bit extra time to get packed and leave. He felt guilty for skipping out on the kids without saying goodbye, especially Danny but he could not face Chris or Nathan again; not until he got everything else on his mind sorted.

"Where you going?" Mary mumbled, reaching out and grabbing his hand before he could stand up.

He leaned back over and kissed the top of her head. "I'm going to take Jack down to get some breakfast."

Mary sat up. "I can do that…you rest."

"Mare, we rested all day yesterday…I need to get up and do something." He told her. "You sleep in for a bit…It won't be long until you're back at work and won't remember what it's like to do that."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, of course." He smiled.

"You seem happier this morning." She commented.

He shrugged. "Had a good night sleep…Makes a difference."

"Good, I'm glad…It's nice to see you smiling again."

"You, Inspector Shannon have gone soft." He grinned down at her.

"Get lost." She scowled. "It's the sleep deprivation talking…"

"That's my girl." He kissed her quickly before standing up straight. "Go back to sleep."

"You don't need to tell me twice." She muttered before rolling over.

Marshall picked up Jack, who smiled up at him and kicked his legs, happily. Marshall rested him against his chest and kissed the top of his head, bouncing him lightly. "Come on, buddy."

He was surprised and a little relieved when he discovered the kitchen was empty.

"Okay, buddy what do you fancy for breakfast?" Marshall questioned. "Some banana? Toast? Cereal?"

Jack just stared up at him and babbled something back at him.

"Good choice…" Marshall replied, grabbing some fruit from the table and the plastic bowl and spoon that had been left on the counter from the day before. "How about we eat outside this morning?"

Jack tried to grab the banana as Marshall struggled to get the back door open. He laughed lightly and shifted his son before he slipped out of his arms. "Not helping here, buddy."

He stepped out onto the deck that looked over the backyard and the pool but stopped when he saw his father sat there reading the paper.

Seth looked over at him. "Good morning."

"Morning…" Marshall tensed a little. "Uh, sorry…didn't realize you were out here…"

"Thought I'd enjoy the morning sun…" Seth shrugged and then nodded to the chair next to him. "Pull up a seat and pour yourself a cup."

Marshall's eyes moved from his Dad to the chair to the coffee pot on the table. After a few seconds of hesitating, he sighed and stepped forward. This was his father…He shouldn't be nervous.

"Ribs still hurting?" Seth questioned, watching as Marshall gingerly lowered himself into the chair.

"A bit." Marshall settled Jack onto one knee and the banana and bowl on the other.

Seth glanced up from his newspaper a few times to watched Marshall who was struggling to keep Jack secured on his lap and open the banana with his broken hand.

"Need some help?"

"I got it…"

Seth sighed and led the paper down on the table. "He's going to keep moving until he gets his breakfast and you can't do it with him squirming like that."

Marshall was about to reply but before he chance, Seth reached over and picked up Jackson. His irritation died down and he just stared at his Dad and his son.

"Quit looking at me like that…I've held babies before." Seth shot him a look.

"Yeah…but not my baby." Marshall said, slowly.

Seth looked down at the little boy in his arm. He was staring up at him curiously and kept glancing across at Marshall for reassurance.

"I know it must be hard to understand but he is my son." Marshall continued. "He might not have my blood or eyes or whatever but none of that matters…I'm raising him…I'm his Father."

"He has his Mother's eyes." Seth commented. "But he looks for you."

Marshall frowned little. "What?"

"He looks for you when you're not holding him." Seth replied. "You're right, none of that other stuff matters…"

"Dad…." Marshall started but found he lost for words; he wasn't expecting to hear any of that from his father.

"Your brother was out of line yesterday with what he said about you and about Mary." Seth told him, bouncing his knee a little for Jack. "But he didn't say it because it's what he believes or to hurt you….They're just confused…They've seen a different side to you this visit and they don't know where their kid brother has gone."

"He grew up." Marshall muttered and began to mash the banana.

Seth turned Jack around so he was facing him. "You're an acquisitive little guy, aren't you?"

Marshall glanced up to see Jack tracing his fingers along his father's face.

"Just like your Dad…" Seth chuckled lightly and shifted his eyes to Marshall. "You would never sit still…always on the move…always picking things up."

Marshall swallowed the lump that rose in his throat; he couldn't believe how awkward and hard it was to have a conversation like this with his own father.

"Here, Jack…" He offered him a spoonful of banana and laughed when he used his hand to grab it off the spoon to shove into his mouth.

The two men were silent while Marshall helped Jack eat the mashed banana; Seth just watching them. As time went on, Marshall found himself starting to relax a little. Maybe things would turn out okay, if he's Dad of all people could come around.

"So, where's Mom?"

"Both Chris and Lucy had work early but wanted someone to make sure Danny and Jake got off to school okay."

Marshall nodded a little. "Danny okay?"

"He will be." Seth replied. "You did good with him, you know."

Marshall glanced up to him. "There were things I could have differently…"

Seth shook his head. "Don't second guess yourself… You did your job."

His words ran through Marshall's head as he sat back in his chair. He didn't feel like he was doing his job…It felt like he was trapped and was fighting to escape.

"Marshall?"

"Hmmm?" Marshall blinked a few times, trying to focus on the conversation.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I fine." He replied and stretched his arms out to take Jack, who automatically held his own arms out. Seth shifted the baby a little so he was just out of Marshall's reach. Jack looked from Marshall to Seth then back to Marshall in confusion before he started to whimper. "Dad, give him to me."

"He's fine…" Seth claimed. "Sit back down and pour yourself a cup coffee."

"Dad…" Marshall started, trying to force the tightness that gripped his chest.

"What? You don't trust me to hold my own Grandson?"

"Considering that until this point you haven't even knowledge him…then yeah, I'm not that convinced." Marshall replied, standing up.

"Marshall… Sit down."

Marshall stared down at him for a few seconds; his eyes shifting to Jack who had settled back down and was looking up at him. He felt his heart beat began to slow a little when his son grinned and laughed, kicking his legs out before a leaf blowing across the deck caught his attention.

Marshall sighed and ran a hand over his face, sitting back down into his seat.

"What's going on?" Seth asked. "I saw you, when you walked through that door…I saw you were happy, relaxed…15 minutes later you're tensed and panicked."

Marshall dropped his head down, staring at the ground and tried to take deep breaths, despite his ribs protesting.

"Do you really feel that uncomfortable around us?" Seth questioned. "When I visited New Mexico, Mary told me you suspected I was there to judge you…"

"You admitted you were." Marshall mumbled, his head still down.

"Yeah but not because I wanted you to feel like this…I never…" He trailed off. "Marshall, I never wanted you to fear me."

Marshall raked his fingers through is hair. "It's not that simple."

Seth attention turned to Jack when he leaned forward and tried to reach the newspaper on the table. Seth grabbed it and opened it in front of them so Jack could run his fingers over the print.

"You know, Jack…Your Dad and I used to always read the newspaper in the mornings." Seth murmured and he saw Marshall frowning a little out of the corner of his eye. "Your Grandmother would be taking your Uncles to school so it would be just the two of us."

Jack babbled and grinned over at Marshall as if he understood what Seth was saying. Marshall felt tears burned in his eyes and he had to bite down on his bottom lip to stop it trembling.

"Your mother always said that were you got your thirst for knowledge because I would sit and read to you, whatever was in the morning paper." Seth told him softly.

"I don't…I don't remember that." Marshall whispered.

"You were just a baby at the time and I guess when you got old enough to remember I had changed job and was working away more."

"Dad, I…"

"Your Grandfather warned me about this, you know…" Seth continued. "He warned me that there were too many of us pulling you in all kind of different directions… He said we would break you."

"I'm not…" Marshall cleared his throat, choking on his own words. "I'm not broken."

"He used to tell me you were special…that we needed to let you free to discover your own path."

"He used to tell me that to." Marshall replied. "But I did that… I didn't become a Marshal because you or Chris or Nathan wanted me too…It's what I wanted."

"I know." Seth nodded. "I'm sorry, it took me so long to work that out…But seeing you handle everything with Danny and those two teenagers back during Operation Falcone…"

"Well, like you said…It's my job."

"You should be proud of yourself…" Seth told him. "I know I am damn proud of you."

The tear escaped Marshall's eyes and slide down his face. He quickly brushed them away, hoping his Dad didn't notice.

"I went to see that Billy kid in the hospital before he was relocated…I had watched the security footage from the U-Move and asked him why he thought it was a good idea to grab the gun…" Seth continued, unfazed by the tears on his son's face. "He said he had…he had to because Skyes was aiming at you….He said he couldn't let the only person who ever had any faith in him get hurt because of a mistake he made…"

"I never knew you went to see him…"

"The thing is, Marshall I know Chris and Nathan are wrong… I know you're like your job…I know you're happy in Albuquerque…I know you're one of the best Marshals in the service…I've heard about the promotion they're offering you." Seth told him. "What I don't know is what happened to you."

Marshall opened his mouth to deny anything had happened to him but no words came out.

"Talk to me, Marshall…" Seth urged. "I know we're not that close and we don't talk about our 'feeling' with each other but I can't sit by and let whatever it is crush you…"

Marshall continued to stare down at the ground. He didn't know what to tell his Dad…He didn't know what he wanted to hear.

"There are plenty of things you need to sort out with your brothers, your mother and I… but it can't be that…This has been building up slowly inside…long before you took the vacation…And the only time I've seen you truly be yourself is around Mary and Jackson…"

"Nightmares…" Marshall whispered, almost unheard.

"I'm sorry?"

"I have….there have been nightmares…every night." He admitted; talking a little louder but did not look up. "Whenever I close my eyes I see…."

"See what?" Seth prompted.

"See all the people I've let down…"

"Marshall…"

"It's my job to protect people…to help them start a new life and make sure nothing happens to them so when one of them…When I lose one of them….It hurts."

His mind flashed back to Norman…Someone who had grown to become a friend. His head told him there was nothing he could have said to convince the older man to give life another chance and that the only thing he could do was to save his and Mary's lives by walking away.

Then there was Lois Turner, she had willing walked out of wit-sec despite all his efforts…all of Mary's efforts. What her future turned out like still haunted him and to this day, he was too terrified to research what had become of her because he didn't know if he could handle if it was bad news.

There were other witnesses too, that had left the program willing or had to be relocated because they did something stupid on his watch.

"You can't save them all…" Seth cut into his thoughts. "No matter how good you are…"

"Yeah." Marshall whispered.

"And you are a good, Marshal." Seth told him.

There was a brief pause while Marshall considered just thanking his Dad for listening and walking away but then decided against it. He knew there were people worried about him and his behavior lately…Hell he was one of them. He knew he had to do something about it and if he could open up to his Dad then everyone else should be easy.

"Danny asked me if I've ever killed anyone."

"It's part of the job."

"I know." He nodded. "It's just… there seems to be a lot more of it lately."

Seth stayed silent; he couldn't remember the last time he even had to fire his gun, let alone shot someone. He would never forget the first time he killed someone…He was about three years into his into career and some drugged up guy was holding a woman hostage. He remembered debating with himself for months afterwards; questioning whether he shot too soon…whether if he would have talked to him for a little longer then maybe he would have let her go…whether there was a chance he could have shot lower or more to the right or to the left so itt wouldn't have been fatal.

It had drove him crazy but deep down he knew he had done the right thing and that he needed to get past it or his career with the Marshal service would be other.

But the thought of his son agonizing over the same thing tore him up. Marshall had always been more sensitive than him and his brothers.

He thought about the pets that they had, had when the boys were young. How each time one of them died, Marshall would not only bury them in the yard under some kind of tree or bush or shrub but would also say a little pray for them.

He remember how his Mother-in-law had passed away when Marshall was four years old and after telling his sons the bad news, he found his youngest in the garage looking for a ladder so he could climb up to heaven to his Grandma back.

He could not imagine what taking another person's life would do to him.

"I don't know who I am anymore, Dad…When I'm at work, there's always this risk of someone dying because of me…or me getting killed ….I don't know how if I can deal with that anymore."

"You're thinking about leaving?"

"A friend has offered me a job with his IT Company…Better money, less hours…safer work."

"I didn't know those sort of things mattered to you…"

"It never used to." Marshall replied, his eyes moving to Jack and then up to his Dad. "Did you ever think about leaving…at all?"

"Once or twice." Seth admitted, knowing exactly what his son was talking about.

"Why?"

"A guy on my team was stabbed to death, left a wife and twin 2 years old daughter behind…Then a time just before you were born…Nathan and Chris snuck out the house one night. I was on the road and they wanted to come find me." Seth told him. "I got a terrifying phone call and had to rush back from Pittsburg…They ended up getting lost but lucky were found and home safe before my plane touched down."

"How come I never heard that story?" Marshall frowned.

Seth shrugged. "I don't know, it's never come up."

"Why didn't you quit?"

"Because being a Marshal is what I'm meant to do…because it's in my blood." He answered. "But that incident did make me take a job in the local office so I could stay close by and I'm glad I did because it gave me chance to be around a lot more when you came along."

Listening to what was being said, made Marshall realize that his Dad had been there for him a lot more than he had given him credit for and he couldn't help but feel guilty.

"There was one more time I almost quit…" Seth told him hesitatingly.

"When?"

"After your Grandfather had died."

"Really? Why? What happened?"

"Because of you."

"Me?" Marshall repeated, his eyes widening slightly. "I don't understand…Why would you quit your job?"

"You took it hard… harder than your brothers and harder than we were expecting…you pushed us all away and buried yourself in your school…You went silent on us and we didn't know what to do with that."

"I never knew that you thought…" Marshall's forehead creased a little, thinking back to when he was 14 years old. He had been close to his Grandpa Mann and shared a lot of interests with him. He used to love going over to visit him because it gave him chance to escape the high-demands of his brothers and his father. Grandpa Mann had been the only one to ask him what he wanted.

"I thought if I was around more, you would go back to how you were before but then I kept remembering what Dad had always told me… How he kept telling me to let you find your own way in life."

"I can't believe you were going to quit for me." Marshall whispered.

"You're my son, Marshall…There's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

Marshall once again found it hard to keep a hold of his emotions but looked up when Seth stood.

"I'll take Jackson inside for a little bit…Why don't you enjoy the sun?" He suggested.

"Dad…"

"We'll be fine, won't we, kiddo?"

Marshall couldn't help but smile when Jack laughed, obviously okay with being with his Grandfather.

"Do you think Chris is going to forgive me for hitting him?"

"Your brothers…of course he will but at some point you'll have to talk to them both." Seth told him. "I meant what I said before about them being confused…They're so used to seeing a side of you that you put on for them that they don't recognize the real you."

"The real me?" Marshall repeated. "Even I don't recognize the real me…"

"I do….He is an Inspector for the US Marshal Service… Partner to a Mary Shannon and father to Jackson Mann." Seth replied. "I wouldn't worry about your brothers...It will all work out."

"And Mom?" He questioned. "Do you think she'll ever come around and give Mary a chance?"

"You're her youngest…Her baby…The one she tried so hard to stop becoming a Marshal….Her little philosopher..." Seth listed with a smirk. "Boy, no woman is ever going to good enough for you."

Marshall chuckled slightly and shook his head.

"But I'm willing to bet she'll do anything if it stops us from losing you." Seth added and patted his shoulder gently as he passed him on the way into the house.

Mary had been stood watching them for five minutes through the window. She couldn't hear what they were talking about and she was trying to decide if she needed to go rescue Marshall when Seth stood up. She had been surprised to see he was holding Jack.

"Ah, Mary…you're up." Seth greeted as he entered the house.

"Uh, yeah…Everything seemed a little too quiet so I thought I should investigate."

Seth laughed. "Well, Marshall is outside if you want him…Jack and I are going to find some books to read."

"You don't have to do that…I can take him."

"I'll make you a deal…I'll take care of your boy and you go take care of mine." He nodded his head towards the backyard.

Mary looked out the window again at Marshall and felt herself nodding. "Okay."

With one more glance at Jack to make sure he was okay, she stepped outside.

"Hey." She said softly as she passed Marshall, her fingers trailing across the back of his neck before she sat in the chair Seth had vacated.

"Hey yourself." He replied, his eyes following her.

She was about to ask what him and his Dad had talked about when he stood up and turned his chair so he was facing her fully and brought it closer to hers.

"You okay?" She asked, when he took one her hands in his uninjured one.

He was running his fingers gently over hers, tracing the engagement ring. He swallowed the lump in his throat and he knew he there were tears in his eyes but he didn't care.

"Marshall?" She placed a hand on his cheek.

"I…uh…I'm going to call Stan." He managed to choke out. "Tell him that I need some help…"

"Help?" Mary repeated.

"I lied to you before." He looked up for the first time. "About taking out my gun when I went in after Danny."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It wasn't because I was worried about the reaction I would get…It was because...because..."

"Because what?"

"I can't kill anyone else, Mare…" He whispered. "I just can't do it anymore."

"Marshall…." She didn't know what to say.

"I don't know if I can be a Marshal…I don't know if I want to be."

"You've had a rough couple of years…we both have and you need to step back for a while." Mary told him. "That's why we came on this vacation."

"I don't want to let you down."

"You haven't."

"I just don't know what to do, anymore."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here, then." She pulled herself closer to him and kissed him softly. "Just let me take care of everything for a while, okay?"

"But.."

"We'll sort everything out…We'll talk to Stan together." She continued. "We'll fix this."

"What if we do all that and I still don't want to be a Marshal?"

"Then you take that geek job that your friend is offering."

"And that would be okay with you?"

"Marshall, if that's what you truly then yes, its okay with me." She assured her. "But I'm not going to let you quit the job that you've loved for so long just like that."

He squeezed her hand gently. "Okay."

She stood up and carefully sat down on his lap, watching for any signs that she was hurting him but he just wrapped his arms around her tightly. She led her head against his shoulder then reached up to tilt his face so he looking down at her.

"If you ever go after a gang of low-lives again without drawing your weapon…I'll shoot you myself."

He smiled and then kissed her. "I promise I won't."

Her hand ran slowly down until it reached his waist and she pulled a little a closer, tucking his head under his chin.

"You love you so much, Marshall…" She whispered. "No matter what happens….I am always going to love you…Remember that."

"I love you too…" He replied, closing his eyes as he tightened his hold on her.

**TBC**

**Okay, I hope that wasn't too over the top. This chapter was pretty hard to write but the Marshall/Seth/Jack scene was actually how I came up with the whole idea for this story. I hope you liked it. Please review and let me know! x**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please keep them coming! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

"It's been pointed out to me that I may owe you an apology."

Mary spun around and saw Sarah stood in the doorway to the bedroom.

"You don't owe me anything." Mary replied, turning back to finishing zipping up the suitcase.

Sarah sighed and entered the room fully. "You'll understand when your son is older."

"Mrs. Mann, I understand now that you're just trying to protect Marshall." Mary told her. "But you don't need to protect him from me."

Sarah sat down on the edge of the bed. "I don't think I could even if I tried..."

Mary narrowed her eyes at her but before she could say anything the older woman held her hand up.

"I didn't mean it like that…I just…Marshall is special…He always been caring and thoughtful." Sarah smiled softly. "His biggest fault is that he is always trying to please everyone, despite what it meant for him."

Mary slowly sat down on the bed beside, her mind flashing back over the past nine years, remembering all the times he had said 'what do you need?'

"I've watched him going through High school being on the baseball team because Nathan was the star player when he was there…he played basketball for Chris…he did music for me…. And Seth, well…no matter what you think of their relationship, as far Marshall was concern, Seth hung the moon…he was his hero, he would do anything to get his Dad's attention."

"What changed?" Mary asked. "I mean, everything that you have all said suggests you were a close family…I can see that he would do anything for any of you but what made him leave?"

Sarah shrugged and sighed. "I don't know maybe it got too much for him…maybe we should have pulled back and let him make his own choices."

"He has made his own choices…He loves his job and he's happy in Albuquerque." Mary assured her.

"We had to let him go so he could go fine himself but…"

"Mrs. Mann?" Mary questioned when she had trailed off and then placed a hand on her arm when she still got no response.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry…" She shook her head a little. "I guess I got lost in my own thoughts…"

Mary sat there patiently waiting for her to continue. A part of her wanted to tell this woman that her son was marrying her and that she just needed to suck it up but she was pretty sure Marshall would not be very happy if he ever found out.

"When Marshall just a boy…whenever we were out at the park or just walking down the street, he would always be ahead of us." Sarah started again. "Anything would catch his eye and he would be gone to investigating it… He was always in our sights and if he ever wondered too far, we would call him to stop."

Mary could not help but smile softly at the image of Marshall as a little boy. If this vacation would have taken a different route, she probably would have bugged his family until they had shown her every embarrassing photograph from his childhood.

"He did the same thing every time we called him…he would freeze for a second then turn to look at us….He'd flash us this big smile and then ran back to us." Sarah told her. "Every single time he would come back…Except when he went off to college."

Mary felt sorry for the other woman, just the thought of not seeing Jack everyday made her shudder.

"He would come to visit and there were phone calls but it felt different…he was different…Distant." Sarah brushed a few years from her eyes. "I guess we all got used to that…Used to him coming into town for a week or so and everyone always so excited and happy to see him…But then things changed again."

"Why was that?"

"You came into his life."

Mary's eyes widened a little, not sure what to say.

"He never really told any of us much about you to begin with, just that he had a new partner…but then he stopped calling every day and stopped coming back for Christmas and Thanksgiving…"

"I never asked him…I never knew…" Mary tried to explain.

"You stole his heart, Mary and became the single most important thing to him." Sarah said softly. "And that's okay…That's how it should be when you're marrying someone but you have to realize that until six months ago we thought it was all one sided."

Mary shook her head. "It wasn't that simple."

"I just worry because you have so much power where his heart is concerned but I also know that because of that, I would never be able to protect him from you because he's too busy protecting you and what you two have from everyone and everything else in this world."

"Mrs. Mann….I feel the same way about him and that's part of the reason why it took so long for me to admit my feelings." Mary replied. "I was so scared of our friendship getting ruined that I held back just so I can have him in my life, even if it meant he was just a friend."

"What changed?"

"I got tired…and lonely." Mary told her. "And I saw him with Abigail…Part of me had given up and thought that he deserved someone who could give him more than I could offer but then I realized it wasn't fair…not for him or for me...And that by stepping aside just meant I was going to end up losing him anyway."

"Well, if you make Marshall happy then I'm happy." Sarah replied, hesitating before settling a hand on top of hers. "But can I ask you one thing of you?"

Mary looked down at their hands for a second before giving a small nod.

"Don't hurt him."

"Marshall is the last person I would ever want to hurt." Mary replied. "I can't promise you I won't make mistake but I will tell you that I won't hurt intentionally."

Sarah nodded a little. "Good enough."

"Mrs. Mann?" Mary said when Sarah stood up. "Thank you….for talking to me."

"Thank you for listening." She replied. "And you're part of the family now…Stop calling me Mrs. Mann."

Mary smiled a little. "Thank…Sarah."

_**XxXxX**_

Marshall closed the door to his Father's office and took a seat at the desk. He stared down at his cell phone in his hand. He knew he had to make this phone call but it felt like he was failing by doing so.

Taking a deep breath, he quickly pressed the speed dial two before he had chance to change his mind.

"McQueen."

"Stan…Hi."

"Marshall? I'm glad to hear from you." His boss replied. "I've been hearing a lot about what you've been up while you're meant to be taking time off."

"I know…I just….I got sucked into something."

"Well, I was told you helped get a nasty piece of work off the streets so it was all for a good cause."

"Yeah…"

"I also heard you got a little beat up."

"Mary made me see a doctor, just some broken ribs and fingers…nothing to worry about but I'll be out of the field for a few weeks."

"I'm glad she was able to get through to you." Stan told him. "I'm going to need a medical report though."

"I'll get one to you as soon as I can."

"So….Mary also said some other stuff." Stan continued. "She's worried about you."

"I know."

"I'm worried about you."

"Yeah…" He sighed. "I'm worried about me."

"Marshall?"

"I don't know, Stan…I think….I just….It is like I'm trapped." He struggled to find the right words. "I think I need help."

"You've been through a hell of a lot….Since Mary's shooting, it seemed to be one thing after another and lately it's crazier than ever." Stan sighed. "I'm sorry that it had to come to this before I realized you could do with a hand."

Marshall was silent, thinking about what Stan had said; a lot had happened since Mary's shooting. He thought about that night and the days that followed when they didn't know if she was going to make it. The helplessness feeling he got because he could do nothing but watch Brandi doing her crosswords and Raph fighting his anger towards the man who did this to the woman he loved….they loved. He remembered the conversation they had…He had felt awkward talking with May's fiancée to begin with. Considering he was meant to be marrying her and Marshall was her best friend, the two of them hardly knew each other. Marshall remembered feeling wary of this man, who had somehow managed to catch Mary and who knew the secret that Marshall had kept well-guarded….but then he spoke about violence and making people suffer and Marshall could relate.

"Are you still there?" Stan asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah."

"Listen, I was looking for a report from your desk for the Johnston case…" Stan started. "I come across a newspaper article from four months ago."

Marshall tensed. "Right, okay…"

"About a guy called David Litton."

Marshall screwed his eyes shut at the name. "I don't know who…"

"Marshall." Stan said, stopping him from continued. "A cop from Wisconsin who went to his local park one Saturday afternoon and killed seven people."

"Five people." Marshall muttered in correction. "And two children."

Stan sighed. "Do you know him?"

"No."

"Then why keep the article? Why have you been obsessing over this?"

"He had a perfect service record…even had some awards for bravery…He wasn't one of the bad guys…"

"Marshall." Stan sighed softly. "You can't be thinking…"

"There's a fine line between sanity and insanity, Stan." Marshall answered. "I bet Officer Litton didn't even know he was teetering along it."

"That report doesn't tell the whole truth…It doesn't say his wife of 20 years left him three days earlier for his brother, taking their four children with her…It doesn't say about the violent childhood he had or how he had been passed over for promotion countless of times." Stan replied. "You are not him, Marshall."

"I know that but…"

"But what?"

"Killing people…whether they're innocent or evil...There was always a line." Marshall stated. "No matter who they were or what they had done…to end someone's life…"

"It's part of the job." Stan claimed. "There is not one person that you have shot or even injured without good reason."

"I do know that, Stan but they still haunt me…they follow me around and I don't know how to stop them."

"I'll tell you how…You think of good things…You think of Mary, wearing a white dress for you…You think of every time Jackson smiles…You think of your future, Marshall with them both." Stan told him. "And all this other stuff…We'll figure out together."

Marshall leaned back against the chair and thought about what Stan had said.

"You just make sure you take whatever medication the doctors have given you so you can get some proper rest." Stan continued. "You need a break, Marshall."

"Thanks, Stan."

"Call me when you get back to town and I'll come over." Stan added. "You, me and that partner of yours will have a beer or something."

"That sounds good." Marshall agreed.

"Take care, Marshall."

"Bye, Stan."

Marshall hung up the phone and took a shaky breath, running a hand over his head. When he first read about David Litton he had not thought much about it. It wasn't until that evening, after he had to shot a 21 year old boy, who had been sent by his mob boss father to take out the 19 year old daughter of his witness. He had found out later, that the college kid had no previous convictions and had a promising football career. Marshall couldn't help but wonder why he had agreed to murder someone or how his own Father could send him to do it.

When he returned the office, he found the newspaper still on his desk and he wondered what is was that tipped a good man like Litton over the line.

Groaning quietly, he hit his head against the headrest on the chair. Everything kept going around and around his mind but he had no answers for them. He knew that he was a good Marshal and he knew in his heart that everything he did, he did for the right reason and to protect those who needed protecting. What he couldn't work out was why it bothered him so much.

Why couldn't he just let it all and forget about the 21 year old football player, who had fire a shot at him first? Or those men in the courthouse who were willing to kill not only the guy that betrayed them but innocent, decent people? Why did he feel as if he let Norman Baker down, when in fact the older man was the one that quit on him?

Pushing himself up, he decided to take Stan's advice and forget about everything but Mary and Jackson. They were all he needed in life and that's what mattered to him.

When he entered the bedroom, he found Mary just finishing packing Jackson's stuff.

"Hey." She smiled over at him.

"Hey," he wrapped his arms around her. "Where's the boy?"

"Your Dad has found some old toys from your nieces and nephews…" She replied, leaning back into his embrace. "You know, I was actually worried what kind of relationship he would have with your family but now I'm worried your Father won't give him back."

Marshall smiled a little. "I'm sure he will as soon as he starts crying."

Mary turned in his arms but before she could say anything else, he pressed his lips onto hers. He deepened the kissed and pulled her tightly against him. When she pulled back a little, he moved his mouth down to her neck.

"What's gotten into you?" She moaned quietly, running her fingers through his hair.

"Something Stan said…" He replied, between kisses.

"Talking to Stan gets you to react like this?" She questioned. "Should I be worried?"

He laughed and stepped back a little but kept his arms around her. "He just remained me that when things get tough I should think about you and Jackson."

"Did you tell him everything?"

"Yeah, he actually already had most of it worked out." Marshall admitted. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"I just want to help."

"I know." He gave her a small smile. "I let things get on top of me and it was as if I was trapped in some kind of maze but instead of taking time to figure things out, I've just ran in any direction, right into brick walls."

"Huh, now there's a funny image…"

"Shut up." He scowled and pushed her gently so she landed on the bed.

"Hey!" She exclaimed and reached up to grab his hand to pull him down to.

"Ow! Broken ribs, remember!" He complained when he landed on top of her.

"Stop being a baby."

"Sympathy worn off already, huh?" He looked down at her.

"Did you really expect it last much longer?" She questioned.

"I'm surprised that it last this long." He shot back.

Mary rolled her eyes but when she looked up at him, she saw he's expression had turned serious again. "Marshall?"

"Marry me."

"We're already engaged, idiot!" She replied. "Are you sure you haven't got a concussion?"

"No, I mean let's get married now." He told her. "Forget about going back to New Mexico…let's just drive to Vegas and get married."

"Marshall…what…?" She whispered.

"Just think…Just me, you and Jack…just the three of us." He continued. "It'll be perfect."

"But our families?" She questioned, still stunned by the suggestion.

"They'll get over it." He answered. "Come on, what do you say?"

"You're really serious about this?" She asked, forcing him off her when she sat up. "You don't want to do it properly and have a wedding?"

"I don't care about any of that stuff…I just want you." He said softly. "I want to be married to you…to spend my life with you."

"Marshall…" She was speechless for a few seconds but then nodded.

"Yes?" He questioned.

"Yes." She confirmed. "Anything to get me out of wearing a dress."

He grinned widely and pounced on her, forcing her back down onto the bed as he kissed her.

"I love you, so much." He said, pulling away only a few millimeters.

"I love you too." She replied, running her hands to the back of his neck and pulling him down for another kiss.

**TBC**

**Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed! Please keep them coming! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

"Should we get two rooms?" Marshall asked as they walked into a hotel in Vegas.

"Why would we need two rooms?" Mary looked across at him.

"It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding." He shrugged.

"Marshall, seriously?" She let out a laugh. "We've run away to get married in secret, breaking all traditions yet you still want to waste money on two rooms?"

He rolled his eyes. "It was just a suggestion."

"Next you'll be telling me I have to wear a dress…" She muttered shifting a sleeping Jack into a more comfortable position in her arms.

"You're not wearing a dress?"

Mary stared back at him, trying to work out if he was joking or not.

"I mean, I know you're not wearing a wedding dress but you're going to dress up right?" He asked. "We need photos."

"I'm sure I have something that will be fine." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "You sure you want to do this?"

"What? Of course." He insisted. "I've just never ran away to elope before…I don't know how it works."

"Well, I have…You basically turn up at the chapel…say some words, sign some paperwork and we're done…"

"And out in time for lunch…" Marshall added with a smile. "I'll get us a room."

Mary watched him walk over to the check in desk. She knew he had just forced that smile and she wondered why. Was he having second thoughts? Was he nervous? Or perhaps he was in pain? It had been a long drive from Phoenix.

"All set?" He asked when he joined her again.

"Yeah, I think Jack's out for the night…" She shifted him again. "What do you say we ordered some room service and then get an early night ourselves?"

"Perfect." He reached over and took Jack from her.

She sighed, knowing it was no good with arguing with him about it. She picked up her overnight bag and reached to take his off his shoulder.

"I got it."

"Marshall…"

"I'm not broken, Mare." He insisted.

She frowned a little at his tone but then shook her head as he walked towards the elevators.

"Fine but if you're too hurt to perform on our wedding night, you're in big trouble." She followed him, not wanting to start any arguments.

He softened a little and gave her a small smile. "You've got nothing to worry about."

He gave her a quick kiss before stepping onto the elevator.

"I brought a dress with me in case we went out somewhere nice with your family." Mary told him, stepping in beside him. "I can wear that."

"You don't have to wear a dress, Mare." He looked down at her. "We're meant to be doing this so we can do what we want…If you don't want to wear a dress, don't wear a dress…wear whatever you're comfortable with."

"I want to…" She replied. "You're right; we need at least one nice photo…I want to make an effort to look good."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "It's going to be great."

She moved closer to him and slipped her hand into his. She had an uneasy feeling in a pit of her stomach but she didn't know why. She knew he loved her and she knew she loved him. It wasn't getting married that worried her but it just didn't feel right. It didn't feel like he was truly there with her.

_**XxXxX**_

The next day, Mary stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Marshall had taken Jackson out for an hour so she could get ready in peace but so far she had only showered and they were due back any minute. She sighed and closed her eyes when she heard the door opening.

"Mare?" Marshall called out. "You almost done."

She hated herself for what she was about to do but deep down she knew it was the right thing.

"Mary?" He knocked on the door. "We've got to be at the chapel in 20 minutes."

"I'll be right out." She finally replied.

"Okay…Hey, you need to see Jack…I found him a little waistcoat and tie to go with his shirt." Marshall continued to talk through the door. "He's going to look way overdressed compared to us but he's so adorable in it…"

He trailed when she stepped into the room and he saw she was in the hotel's complimentary bathrobe and her hair was still wet. She swallowed the lump in her throat when she saw him. He was dressed in dark jeans, a black shirt with an open collar and the sleeves rolled up his elbows. Jack was sat on the bed, ignoring them both in favor for his stuffed bear but Marshall had been right, he did look incredibly cute in his outfit.

"You're not ready?" He questioned. "We're going to be late."

"Marshall…I can't."

"Can't what?" He asked, frowning. "What's going on?"

"We can't get married, Marshall." She told him. "Not today."

"I don't understand." He stared at her. "You don't want to marry me?"

"This isn't what you want." She shook her head. "You want a real wedding with our friends and family…"

"All I want is you." He claimed. "I just want you to be my wife."

"I know and believe me I want to marry you but not like this." She moved closer to him when she saw there were tears filling his eyes. "Marshall, please…"

When she reached out to take his hand, he stepped back away from her and turned to face the other way.

"Marshall." She said again but got no reply. "I'm sorry but this isn't right."

She glanced down at Jack, who was looking from her to his Dad with a small frown on his face. Mary wondered if he knew his parents were upset.

"Marshall…" She started again but the sound of her cell phone cut of her off. She grabbed it off the side, expecting to see her Mother's name on the callers' ID because she had already called four times that morning but Mary had let it go to voicemail; not in the mood to deal with Jinx's drama. She was surprised when she saw Stan's name and accepted the call.

"Hey, Stan."

"Mary, are you okay?"

"What? Yeah, of course…Why?"

She heard him sigh in relief. "Everyone's been wondering where you are! We were worried sick!"

"Who's everyone?" Mary asked. "What's going on?"

"Marshall's brothers turned up last night to sort things out with him and they got worried when you still wasn't back by this morning…It's been all we can do to convince his parents to stay put…Your Mother is beside herself even Brandi flew in."

"Are you kidding me?" Mary asked stunned. "We go away for one night…"

"And not tell anyone." Stan finished off. "With everything that has happened…with how things have been, do you really think it was best idea to go off the grid?"

"Go off the grid?" Mary repeated. "Fine, we didn't tell anyone and maybe I should have picked up one of the four times my Mom has called but I answered straight away when I saw your name…"

"Well, none of Marshall's family had your cell number and Marshall's is turned off…" Stan replied. "Alison has been trying to get hold of him…"

"What part of vacation does that woman not understand?" Mary exclaimed.

"Look, the main thing is that you're okay."

She sighed. "Yeah."

"You are okay, aren't you?"

Mary looked over at Marshall who was still stood with his back to her.

"I'll have to get back to you on that on." She said softly.

"Mary…"

"Tell everyone to relax and we will be home sometime this evening." She replied, knowing the drive back will take all day.

"Tonight? Where are you?"

"It doesn't matter…" She told him. "I've got to go."

She hung up the phone and continued to watch Marshall but he still didn't move or speak.

"That was Stan…" She told him. "It seems your brothers went to Albuquerque to talk to you and then everyone freaked out because they didn't know where we were."

She still got no response from him so walked towards him. "Marshall…"

"We better hit the road and get back then." He practically ducked under her arm to avoid being touched.

Her arm fell down by her side and she watched him start packing the few things that had been got out overnight.

"I'll just get dressed." She said quietly, grabbing some clothes and heading for the bathroom.

_**XxXxX**_

Over the nine years that they had known each other, Mary could not remember a more uncomfortable car journey. Not even after she told Raphael about their jobs or she when she ran off to Mexico with Faber.

Marshall had wanted to drive but Mary insisted that he still needed to rest and was surprised when he didn't argue. He then chose to sit in the back with Jackson the whole way home. Even when they stopped, he stayed in the truck while Mary took Jack into the diner for lunch. She had brought him out a sandwich and some pie as a peace offering but he never touched it. She had attempted to talk to him but he was barely answered so she gave up. She wasn't used to him being this withdrawn and she was really beginning to worry about him.

When they were about two hours away, she got another phone call from Stan, warning her that Jinx and Brandi were waiting at her house with Marshall's brothers; all of them wanted to know what was going on.

She was relieved that they had stopped for a bathroom break, so she could talk to Stan privately. Glancing towards the truck, she saw Marshall was still sat where she left him.

"Did he talk to you?" She asked her boss. "I mean, he said he did…said that you already had an idea about what was going on…"

"He told me he felt like he needed some help." Stan replied. "But at the end of the conversation, he seemed a little better…"

"Yeah…"

"Mary? What's happened?"

"He's not talking to me, Stan." She admitted.

"You know what Marshall's like…He probably doesn't want to worry you…"

"No, I don't mean he's not opening up to me…I mean, he's not talking to me." She stated. "He's giving me the silent treatment."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "Have you had an argument?"

"You could say that…"

"What does that mean?"

"It means I said something and he took it the wrong way and he refusing to let me explain."

"Is he doing anything else out of character?"

"All he's doing is sitting the back of the truck staring out the window." Mary replied.

"Okay, I'm going to head over to your place and see if I can get everyone to leave." Stan told her. "It's probably the last thing Marshall needs right now."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." She agreed.

"I'll hang around and we'll talk to him together." He suggested.

"Okay…Thanks, Stan."

"Just doing my job." He replied. "I'll see you when you get back."

"Bye."

When Mary climbed back into the truck, Marshall never asked what took her so long and she never told him. Neither of them spoke for the rest of the journey but Mary made sure to keep an eye on him in the rearview.

She sighed when they finally pulled up outside their house and saw several cars parked out front.

"I guess we got some visitors." She rubbed her eyes.

Marshall still never replied and was already half way out the car, grabbing his bag from the trunk before moving to unstrap Jack.

Mary just watched him silently, this time not arguing about him hurting himself and followed him into the house.

"Oh, thank God you're back!" Jinx gasped when he walked through the door. "We were so worried!"

"Where have you been?" Brandi questioned, getting up from the couch.

"Let me see my Grandbaby…" Jinx reached out her arms but Marshall just walked right by. "Hey…"

"Mom, leave it." Mary told her, closing the door.

"But…"

"Please." Mary cut her off.

"What's happened?" Brandi asked, looking from Mary to Marshall. "Are you okay?"

"I'm going to put him down for a sleep." Marshall muttered, only glancing at Mary.

"Okay.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Chris demanded entering from the kitchen with Nathan and Stan behind him, blocking Marshall's exit.

"Not now, Chris." Marshall pushed past him.

"Will someone tell me what's happened?" Jinx asked.

"Look, can you guys just give us some space, please?" Mary requested. "It's been a long day."

"I was just trying to explain to everyone that it might be best to leave everything till the morning." Stan said.

"We're not going anywhere." Chris stated. "We came here to talk to Marshall…"

"Marshall doesn't want to talk to you." Marshall himself said, reappeared with a pile of clean clothes in his arms.

Nathan spun around to look at him. "Look, I know things didn't go to plan during the visit…"

Marshall laughed humorlessly and grabbed the bag he dropped on the floor when he first came in.

"What are you doing?" Mary frowned, watching him stuff the clean clothes into the bag.

"I'm going to stay in a hotel for a few days…"

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, Marshall…You can't do this…This is crazy."

He looked up at her for the first time. "Yeah, I know…It's crazy…everything is crazy…I feel crazy…and I need to leave."

"Marshall, let us just talk…" Stan placed a hand on his shoulder but had to take a step back in surprise when Marshall jumped away from him as if he'd been burnt. "Hey, it's okay…I didn't mean to…"

"Just…" Marshall held up his hands. "Just don't…"

They all watched him walk away into the kitchen, stunned by what they had just seen.

"Stan…" Mary looked over at him helplessly.

"I've already talked to Shelly Finkle…She's recommending someone else to speak with him…She doesn't think it's a good idea for it to be her, considering the history…"

"This is ridicules…I'm going to talk to him." Chris stated.

Stan placed a firm hand on his chest. "Leave him be…you'll make matters worse."

"He's my brother and we got things to sort out!"

"And right now he's got a hundred other things on his mind so just give him some space."

"Look…"

"No, you look…Stay out of that kitchen or I'll handcuff you to the coffee table…got it?" Stan raised his voice a little and then turned his attention to Mary. "I'll go speak to him."

She just nodded and slowly sat down on the couch. She couldn't believe how bad things had gone.

"Mare?" Brandi sat beside her.

"I can't lose him…" She whispered.

Brandi looked up at Jinx and then wrapped her arm around her sister. "It'll be okay…"

When Stan entered the kitchen he found Marshall with his hands on the counter and his head bowed down. Even from the doorway, he could see the younger man shaking and breathing deeply.

"Look if you need to a break…somewhere else to stay, my place…" Stan started to offer as he walked over to him but stopped when he got a good look at Marshall. He had turned ghostly white and there was sweat pouring down his face. "Marshall?"

"I can't…." He struggled to speak. "Breath…hurt."

"I need some help in here!" Stan shouted as he took one of Marshall's arms. "Let's sit you done…its okay."

"What's going on?" Mary was the first to arrive with the others not far behind.

"Call an ambulance…" Stan ordered trying to guide Marshall over to the kitchen table so he could sit down.

"Marshall?" Mary moved to his other side but before she could reach him, his legs buckled beneath and Stan struggled to keep a hold of him.

"Lie him down…" Stan told her when she grabbed onto his other arm.

"They want to know what's wrong…" Brandi said tearfully, the phone pressed to her ear.

"Tell them it's a heart attack…" Stan glanced at her, from his position knelling beside Marshall.

"He's too young for a heart attack!" Chris claimed

"What can I do?" Nathan asked, moving closer.

"Get him some water."

"Marshall, I need you to look at me…" Mary put a hand to his cheek and turned his face towards her. "I need you to keep looking at me and listening to me…I love you…please…just hang on okay…"

"Ambulance is on its way…" Brandi told them but Mary didn't hear her.

"Think of Jack…of our little boy…he needs you, Marshall…He needs his Daddy…" She felt tears in her eyes but she didn't care. "I need you…I love you."

Marshall just stared up at her wordless, blinking a few times before his eyes began to close.

"No, Marshall…No…don't sleep." She ran a hand down his face and he forced his eyes back open. "Please just stay awake…I'm so sorry for hurting you…I'm sorry for everything…I love you more than anyone and I want to marry you…I want to be your wife, please believe that…please…"

"Sorry…" He coughed and used all his strength to take hold of her hand, "for silence…and…sitting…back…"

She smiled and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "All these years I wanted you to shut up and when you did I hated it…"

"Love…" His eyes fluttered again but he screwed them shut tightly before reopened them. "And Jack…"

"I know…" She whispered.

She had been completely focused on Marshall that she didn't even hear the EMT arriving until she was pushed out the way.

"Mary, come here…" Stan put his arms around her and helped to her stand up. "Let them do their job."

"Oh my god." She gasped, her hand covering her mouth as more tears fell.

"It's okay…He's strong." Stan whispered. "He'll be okay."

**TBC**

**Okay, that took a pretty dramatic turn that I didn't have planned. So what do you think? Will he survive? Is it a heart attack? Was Mary right to cancel the wedding? Please review and let me know what you think! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey, sorry it's taken so long to update! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Please keep them coming! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

"Mare, do you want me to take Jack?" Brandi asked, quietly.

As soon as they got to the hospital, Marshall had been whisked away and Mary was told she would have to wait until the doctor was finished before she could see him. Stan had managed to get them a private waiting room by flashing his badge and Mary had chosen to sit in the corner as far away from anyone as possible.

"No." She said quietly, shaking her head and automatically tightened her hold on her son.

Brandi stayed crouched down in front of her for a few seconds before sighing and pushing herself up. She had no idea what she could do to help her sister. She walked across the room and took a seat beside Jinx.

"Mom and Dad are already flying in." Chris informed Nathan as he entered the room. "I spoke with Lucy…They were worried that we hadn't called them back to tell them Marshall had arrived home safely so they caught a plane out…I left a message on Dad's phone telling them to come straight here….Their plane should be getting in about now."

Nathan ran a hand through his hair. "I can't believe this is happening…"

"Marshall's strong." Stan supplied, from his post between Mary and everyone else. "He'll get through this…"

"He's only 42 years old…Could he really be having a heart attack?" Nathan said aloud.

"It's not unheard of…" Stan replied softly. "He's been under a lot of stress lately…"

"What's taking them so long?" Chris glanced behind him at the door. "Why, the hell can't someone come and tell us what's going on?"

"I'm sure they will when they know something."

"I still don't understand what's happened…" Jinx joined in. "Where did all those bruises come from? I thought he was meant to be on vacation…"

"Now is probably not the time…" Stan told her, glancing at Mary and saw her tense even more.

"Is that why he collapsed? Maybe there was some kind of damage done…"

"Stop it." Mary whispered but it was loud enough for everyone to hear and turn to her.

"Mary?" Brandi questioned.

"Just stop it….Stop talking…Stop saying everything is going to be alright because it's not…" She carefully led a sleeping Jack down the chair beside her and stood up.

"You don't know that." Stan told her gently. "It might even be a heart attack…"

She shook her head, tears falling from her eyes. "It doesn't matter what it is…He collapsed, Stan…He couldn't breathe…He was dying."

"Mare…" Brandi got up and crossed the room to her but her sister, stepped back away from her touch.

"This isn't helping anyone." Chris sent her a look. "And if certainly isn't helping Marshall by giving up on him…"

"No one is giving up on him." Stan told him diplomatically.

"Sure sounds like it." He muttered.

"Chris." Nathan gave him a warning look.

"What?" He looked over at him. "Our kid brother is hurting and I'm not allowed to worry about him?"

"It's a bit late for that." Mary crossed her arms.

"Excuse me?" Chris turned around to face her.

"Where the hell have you been the last nine years?" She questioned. "You all bitch about Marshall not visiting often enough but none of you have bothered to come out here…You have no clue what is going on in his life…You didn't even know when he got shot…"

"We have our families and jobs back in Phoenix…" Chris stated. "We can't just decide to go on vacation when we like."

"And you think Marshall can?" Mary stared at him. "He has a career as well, you know…"

"And a family here too." Brandi added, trying to back Mary up.

Chris let out a short laugh. "I mean a real family…One that shares the same DNA…"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Mary lunched for him and before anyone could get between them, she hit hard in the mouth.

"Mary!" Stan pulled her back and placed himself in between them while Nathan pushed Chris to the other side of the room.

"How dare you!" Mary glared at him. "No matter what you think, no matter what happens…Jackson is Marshall's son…Nothing is ever going to change that…"

"He didn't mean…" Nathan started to explain but was cut off.

"Yes, he did!"

"I think everyone needs to calm down." Stan told, looking between his Inspector and the two brothers. "This isn't helping anyone."

Chris reached up to touch his lip and when he pulled his fingers away, he saw blood. Nathan pulled out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to him.

"Look…" Chris started but was cut off.

"Chris, shut up." Nathan sighed, rubbing his temples. "Just sit down."

Chris stared at his brother for a few seconds before dropping down into a chair and covering his hands with his face. The sound of a cell ringing echoed around the room and Nathan reached into his pocket to see his Dad's name on the caller ID.

"Dad, hi…We're waiting to hear…I don't really know." He turned his back to everyone in the room and lowered his voice. "When he got home he was upset about something and then next thing we know he was collapsing…They think it could be his heart…"

Mary walked back over to Jack and sat beside him, stroking his hair lightly; grateful that he was still sleeping. Brandi sat on the other side of her, waiting for her sister to tell her to leave her alone and was surprised when Mary remained silent.

"Yeah, the doctor is coming to talk to us so get here as soon as you can." Nathan continued. "Okay, bye…"

Chris looked up at him. "Are they on their way?"

"They were just getting a cab… shouldn't take them long."

"Mary?" Stan walked over to her. "Is there anything I can get you?"

She shook her head a little but did not speak.

"He'll be okay, kiddo." He said softly. "This is Marshall…The guy who stood up and shot two gun after being shot in the chest…the guy who walked away without a stretch after entering a building just before it collapsed…"

"He doesn't seem like the same guy…" She whispered, staring ahead. "The last few days…I've seen a different person…And I have no idea what happened to him."

"He's been through a lot lately…He needs a break and to get his head to stop spinning." Stan told her. "We'll figure this out…We'll get him back."

The room fell into silence; Jack never stirred and Brandi didn't leave Mary's side. Stan kept his position in the middle while Nathan and Chris stayed on the other side of the room. Jinx tried to fuss over Mary for a few minutes but stop after receiving a glare from her eldest daughter.

20 minutes had passed when the door finally opened and Mary jumped to her feet but was disappointed to see it wasn't the doctor but Marshall's parents and Danny.

"How is he?" Seth asked, straight away.

"Still waiting." Nathan sighed, standing up and putting his arm around his Mother.

"What are you doing here?" Chris asked as he stood up and walked over to his son.

"I wanted to see Uncle Marshall…I want to know what's going on." Danny replied.

"You let him come?" Chris glared at his father. "He has school."

"Dad, I owe him my life…School can wait!" Danny insisted.

"He would have just followed us anyway." Seth replied. "We didn't have time to argue about it and it's not important now… Marshall is what is important."

"I don't understand how this happened." Sarah cried. "He was happy when he left."

Mary felt everyone look over in her direction but no one said anything.

"Seth, it's good to see you again…I wish it was under different circumstances…" Stan reached out the shake the other man's hand and then turned to Sarah. "Mrs. Mann, I'm Stan McQueen…Marshall's boss."

"Please, call me Sarah." She replied tearfully. "Do you know what happened?"

"He had difficulty breathing so we called ambulance…that's all we know at the moment."

"You said he was upset." Seth looked at Nathan. "What happened?"

He sighed, shooting another glance at Mary. "I don't know…"

"Mary?" Seth walked over to her. "What happened? Where were you last night?"

She lifted her head and saw everyone was watching her. "We…Marshall asked…Oh god…"

"Mary?" Brandi put a hand on her arm; she couldn't remember ever seeing her like this before. "What did he ask you?"

"He…He asked me to marry him…"

"But you're already in engaged." Jinx stated.

"He asked me to marry him today…So we drove to Vegas…."

"You eloped?" Jinx gasped.

"Without any of us there?" Sarah stared at her. "I can't believe you would do that…"

Mary shook her head and more tears filled her eyes. "We didn't…I said no."

"What?"

"I told him I couldn't marry him…not today." She told them and then broke down.

Stan crouched down in front of her and removed her hands from her face. "Mary, this isn't your fault."

"The only thing he said he was sure of was that he wanted us to be married…For the three of us to be a family…" She whispered. "I broke his heart, Stan."

"You listen to me, Inspector…" Stan said firmly. "Your partner is one of the stronger, smartest people I know…This won't beat him, you hear me….and nothing is going to change the way he feels about you…He's just going through a hard time at the minute but when it mattered, he told you he loved you and he loved Jackson…that's what you have to concentrate on."

Mary looked back at him, taking a shaky, deep breath and tried to get control of her emotions. She knew part of what Stan said was right, that Marshall was strong and he was smart but she couldn't help but wonder if he told her he loved her because he knew it would his final chance.

Before she could voice that thought, the door opened again and a doctor stepped in with a clipboard in his hand.

"Family of Marshall Mann?"

Everyone turned quickly to face him and stepped closer.

"Yes, how is he?" Sarah asked, reaching out and grabbing Seth's hand.

The doctor looked surprised about the amount of people in the room and he glanced around.

"We're all his family." Seth informed him. "You might as well tell us all together because none of us are leaving."

The doctor looked over at Mary, recognizing her from when she arrived at the hospital, running alongside the stretcher and saw she had no objection to them all being there.

"Okay, why don't we take a seat?" He suggested, gestured behind them at the row of chairs.

Everyone slowly sat back down, apart from Mary, who continued to watch the doctor. Her stomach was in knots as she tried to read his face but she couldn't figure what he was going to stay, except she knew it was going to be bad news.

Stan gently took her hand and pulled her down and she didn't resist. The doctor picked up a chair and placed it so he was sat in middle of the group but right in front of Mary.

"Ms. Shannon?" He looked down at his clipboard briefly. "You came in with Mr. Mann, correct?"

"Yes, he's my fiancée…" She answered, swallowing the lump that had rose in her throat.

"You told the nurse that he has already been checked out for his injuries?"

"Yes, in Phoenix." She nodded. "They said it was broken and bruised ribs… broken fingers and a fractured wrist…"

"We ran a few test and we don't think the collapse was the result of those injuries." He told her. "We have also ruled out a heart attack."

There was a sigh of a relief around the room and they all muttered their gratitude.

"However, his blood pressure was incredibly high and his heartbeat was erratic." He stated. "We have placed him on oxygen and a course of medication to try and bring his BP down."

"But he's going to be okay, right?" Brandi questioned.

The doctor sighed. "Physically, I see no reason why he won't make a full recovery…"

"But?"

"I believe that Marshall has suffered from a severe panic attack." He claimed.

"A panic attack?" Jinx repeated, looking around the room. "That doesn't sound too bad…I mean, you can get help with that, right?"

"Yes, panic attacks are treatable." He nodded. "But what concerns me in Marshall's case are the other factors."

"What other factors?" Seth questioned.

"He is also showing signs of malnutrition, dehydration and exhaustion…" He replied. "In my opinion, Marshall is nearing a breakdown."

"No…" Sarah shook her head. "No, you're wrong…"

"I know it must be hard to hear…" He added. "It's my understanding that he works for the Marshal Service?"

"Yes, that's right." Stan confirmed, glancing at Mary who was just staring ahead.

"It's not uncommon for law enforcement officers to go through something like this." He stated. "Especially if he's been under a lot of pressure and stress…"

Mary stood up and moved away from the group, leaning against the wall and she struggled to breath. How could she have missed it? She thought back to the sandwich he refused to eat on the way home and she tried to remember when the last time she saw him eat a full meal.

The doctor watched her for a few seconds before turning back to the rest of them. "How has his behavior been lately? Anything out of the normal?"

Stan sighed and ran a hand over his face. "He's been working pretty hard lately…"

"Any traumatic experiences?"

"It's a possibility."

"What does that mean?" Chris looked over at him. "He has or he hasn't…"

"He's been working out of the office and there are some cases he's involved in that I'm not allowed to know the details of." Stan told him.

"He's been having nightmares." Seth added, standing up, causing his chair to scrap across the floor. "Damn it! He told me he was in trouble and all I went on about was how it was part of the job…"

"I don't understand." Sarah said tearfully. "He was fine! Just tired where he's been working long hours but after a few days rest…"

"Look, I'm not an expert in this so I've asked someone to come and speak to him…." The doctor told them gently. "We can figure out a way to help him get through this."

There was silence in the room as they everyone thought about Marshall and how he had been acting; all of them questioning whether they should have spotted something sooner…All of them deciding they should have.

"What now?" Stan asked, looking up at the doctor again.

"Right now we are concentrating on getting him comfortable and for him to get some rest." He replied. "After that, it's really up to Marshall what the next step is."

"Can I see him?" Mary turned back to face him.

"I'll get a nurse to come and show you to his room." He gave her a small smile. "He was asking for you earlier."

At those words Mary closed her eyes; she didn't want to wait. She wanted to see him, to hold him and tell him that he didn't need to worry anymore because she was going to take care of him.

"If there is anything else you need then please don't hesitating in asking…" The doctor stood up.

"Thank you, doctor." Stan reached over and shook his hand.

He then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Allison Pearson's number but hung up when he got the voicemail. He pressed a few more buttons and then put the phone to his ear again.

"Delia, I need you to get a message to Pearson's office…Tell her I need the files for all the cases Inspector Mann has been working…Tell her I don't care if they're top secret and if she got a problem with it, I will go over her head….Thanks."

"I can't get my head around this…" Nathan ran a hand through his hair. "A few days ago I thought he was on court security and now this…"

"You really think something could have happened while he was working for Pearson?" Mary looked at her boss.

"I honestly don't know, Mary…but something has tipped him over the edge and I don't think we'll get anywhere unless we know what it was."

Before Mary could reply, her attention was caught by Jack, who was slowly waking up. She crossed the room to him, just in time to stop him from rolling off the chair.

"Ma..ma…" He held his arms up to her and once she was holding him, he looked around the room; frowning a little. "Da…"

Mary ran a hand up and down his back gently. "Shhh, its okay…"

He started to fuss a little, still unsure about all the people in the room, looking at each of them with uncertainly.

"Ms. Shannon?" A nurse appeared in the doorway.

Mary looked from her to her son, torn between wanting to see Marshall and staying with Jack. She saw Jinx reaching out to take him off her but before she could, Seth took him into his own arms.

"Come on here, buddy…" He said softly, bouncing him a gently.

Jack blinked a few times at him and then looked to Mary. She was expecting him to start crying and was surprised when he simply led his head against Seth's chest and sighed contently.

Seth jerked his head in the direction of the door and when he spoke, his voice cracked with emotion. "I'll take care of your boy…you go take care of mine."

She gave a small nod, not trusting herself to speak after hearing him repeat those words. She took a deep breath and gave one last glance at Jackson to make sure he was truly okay before slowly making her way to the door.

**TBC**

**Okay, this was harder to write then I thought so I hope it's okay. Sorry if any of the medical information is wrong! Please review and let me know what you think! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi, sorry it's taken so long to update this story. I got caught up in my other series! Thank you for all the reviews and to everyone who has added this story to their alerts and favorites! It's the second most popular of all 88 of my fics and slowly gaining on the first, so I truly thank anyone who is reading! It still amazes me! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

When Mary saw Marshall led in that hospital, her first thought was how did she not noticed how much weight he had lost recently. She had been living with him…sleeping in the same bed as him…Although, now she thought about it; over the last few months, there had been a lot of nights when he got home after she gone to bed and left for work before she got up. She had always assumed he had joined her to sleep but now she wasn't so sure.

Sighing, she crossed the room and sat down. She felt exhausted herself and she wondered just how bad Marshall must feel.

When she reached out and took his hand, it startled him.

"Marshall?" She stood up and leaned closer to the bed to see his eyes squinting against the light.

"Mare?"

"Hey, yeah, it's me." She sat on the edge of the bed, turning her body so she was facing him.

"Where…?"

"You're in hospital…You collapsed at home." She said softly.

He looked at her confused. "Collapsed?"

"Yeah, you don't remember?"

"I don't…." He started and then stopped. "I wasn't talking to you…I was trying to leave."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"What? No, Marshall…"

"I don't want to leave you…" He cut in. "You and Jack are the best thing that ever happened to me…"

"Hey, Shhh…" She reached out to touch his face. "Calm down, okay? That doesn't matter…"

"But Mare…"

"No, Marshall, you were upset and every right to be…You've spent the past six months taking care of everyone else and there's been no one taking care of you….and I'm sorry about that." She told him. "Now you listen to me…Don't worry about anything…Don't worry about your family or work…just get some rest."

"Where's Jack?"

"He's with your Dad." She informed him. "I don't know what happened in Phoenix but they seemed to have bonded."

"Dad's here?"

"And your Mom and Danny…" She replied. "Do you want to see them? Your brothers are here too…and Stan."

"No, I…I don't want to see anyone." He told her. "But will you stay with me?"

"Of course." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "We're going to talk later but right now I want you to get some more sleep."

"Okay." He agreed easily, which just proved to Mary at how terrible he must feel. "Mare?"

"Hmm?"

"I am sorry for taking it out on you."

"Forget about it." She told him. "I already have."

"I don't believe you."

She smiled a little. "Okay, I haven't but I don't blame you…"

"But…"

"Sleep." She interrupted. "We'll talk later."

"Okay."

_**XxXxX**_

Once he was assured that Marshall was going to be okay after some much needed rest, Stan headed back to the office. He was furious with himself for letting it get to this point. He had known Marshall was spreading himself too thin over the last few months between his engagement and baby son, his work load, helping the new inspector with Mary's witnesses and working for Allison as well but he didn't say anything because if anyone could handle it, it was Marshall. Plus, the office was struggling with Mary being off and he needed Marshall to help him out.

Marshall and Mary were more to him then just his Inspectors. He didn't have a lot of true friends or family, so the considered the two of them as both. He couldn't believe he let Marshall run himself into the ground just to make his life easier.

"How's Marshall?" Delia walked over to him as soon as he stepped through the door.

"Doc says after some fluid and plenty of rest he's going to be fine." Stan assured her.

"Oh good." Delia smiled. "What a relief."

"Did you get hold of Pearson?"

"She's waiting for your call."

"Great." Stan entered his office, slamming the door behind him.

He sat down and grabbed the phone, pressing a few buttons. It only rang twice before Allison answered.

"Chief McQueen?" She greeted but he could tell from her tone, she was distracted. "What can I do for you?"

"It's about Marshall Mann…"

"Oh yes, I heard he wasn't feeling too well…How is he doing?"

"He's been admitted into hospital with exhaustion." Stan told her. "Also, the doctors think he had some kind of panic attack."

"That's too bad…He's an important member of the team." She replied. "Do they think he'll be out long?"

"That pretends."

"On what?"

"What caused the breakdown…" Stan answered. "Now, I've looked over his case load from this office and while there has been some incident, I'm not convinced that is all."

"Okay…"

"I need to know what he's been working on for you." Stan told her.

"That's highly classified information…." She stated, finally giving the conversation her full attention.

"I don't give a damn." Stan snapped. "Marshall is one of my best inspectors and a good friend…I know him…I know his limits and he's been pushed past them, so I need to know what he has done it so we can help him."

"I understand your concern, Stan but I cannot just send you the information." Allison replied. "If this is a result of a traumatic experience then I can appoint a therapist that we work with…"

"Allison…"

"I can assure you that I want to this dealt and for Inspector Mann to fully recover…We have a lot of plans for his future."

"Yes, I've heard…" Stan sighed.

"So, I'll set up an appointment for him and you call me if there is anything else we can do for him."

"We could do with some more help down here…It hasn't helped that he had to do the work of two inspectors."

"Consider it done." She replied. "Now if there is nothing else…"

"That's all for the moment…"

"Okay, please pass on my best wishes to Inspector Mann and his family." Allison said before hanging up.

Stan sighed and replaced the phone. There was a part of him that didn't trust Allison and would be more comfortable handle this situation himself but there was nothing he could do. The only way they would be able to get to the bottom of this was if Marshall talked about whatever it was that was bothering him.

_**XxXxX**_

"How is he?" Sarah asked as soon as Mary entered the waiting room.

"He's sleeping at the moment." She replied. "I spoke with him for a few minutes…He seems a bit confused about everything but I guess that's not uncommon."

"Can I see him?" She questioned.

Mary hesitated. "He….he said he doesn't want to see anyone."

"But I'm his mother!"

"I know but I think he's actually a bit embarrassed by what's happened." Mary guessed. "And right now he can't handle much more stress…If he's not ready to see anyone then no one gets in there…"

"But…"

"I'm sorry." Mary cut her off. "I'm not trying to difficult…I'm just looking out for Marshall."

"She's right, Mom." Nathan said softly. "We don't know what we're dealing with here…We don't know what's happened and we don't know Marshall…not anymore….We could end up doing more damage."

"There is no point in us all hanging around here, getting in everyone's way…Why don't we head to the hotel for the night." Seth suggested. "We can come back tomorrow after Marshall has had some rest."

"I don't like leaving him here." Sarah claimed.

"Mary will be here." He replied. "Come on, we're doing no good here."

"I will call if anything happens." Mary added. "But I think Seth is right…Marshall needs space at the moment to get his head straight."

She sighed. "Fine, okay…"

"Mare, do you want me to take Jack?" Brandi who was now holding the sleeping baby asked.

"I don't know…"

"He should be at home in his own bed." She replied.

"I guess…" She reached out and took her son into her own arms. "Are you sure you'll be okay with him?"

"I'll stay with them." Jinx offered.

"We'll be fine." Brandi assured her.

"Okay but make sure you call me if you need anything."

"Only if you do the same." Brandi replied.

"And bring him here in the morning…Marshall will want to see him."

"Of course." She nodded.

"Mary, here's where we are staying." Seth handed her a card with the details of their hotel. "Call any time…"

"I will."

"And we'll back tomorrow."

Everyone filed out of the room, all except Chris who stood looking at Mary. She stared back at him, wondering what he was thinking about but whatever it was, he decided not to voice because after sighing he followed the others.

She waited until they were all gone before taking her cell phone to call Stan.

"Mary, is there a problem?" He answered.

"No…Well, not a new one anyway." She replied. "How did you get on with Pearson?"

"She won't give up any information but is organizing someone to talk to Marshall."

"What do you mean, she won't give anything up?" Mary fumed. "We have the right to know what happened to him!"

"I agree, Mary but right now my hands are tied."

"Stan…"

"Just let me deal with this…I'll make a few calls and see what I can find out." He told her. "Until then, the Doctor that Allison is assigning is one of the best….It won't do him any harm."

"Fine…"

"Now, how are you holding up?"

"I'm not the one in a hospital bed…"

"No, but none of this has been easy on you…"

"I don't know how I feel, Stan…All I know is that there is something wrong with Marshall and there has been for a quite a while now but I failed to notice….I failed him…"

"Mary…"

"Look, I'm going to go…I want to get back to him." She cut him off. "I'm staying with him tonight, so I'll give you a call tomorrow."

"Okay." Stan replied. "But Mary…Don't be so hard on yourself, okay?"

"I'll try." She answered before cancelling the call.

She wasn't surprised to find Marshall was still sleeping. She settled into the chair beside the bed and just watched him. Since they had gotten together, she had been trying to be better to him. She knew for most of their friendship it was him that had always been there for her and she had wanted to change that. She wanted them to have an equal partnership now and thought they had been doing okay until they had gone to his parents'.

She had never seen that side of him before…The way he took care of Danny, having no regard for his own safety, surprised her. She knew he was protective of people cared about and his witness but she never knew exactly what he was capable of.

She had always assumed he had followed procedure when it came to her shooting and that he worked with Stan and ABQPD to get the information on the shooter. While she was recovering, she had asked questions about the investigation but she had trusted them to do their jobs. Now she wished she had paid more attention…If she would have known, she would have shot him herself…She would have never have allowed him to put himself into danger needlessly.

She wondered whether this was the real reason he was considering quitting…If he was so sick of the pressure of keeping everyone around him safe. After the last week and see him hurting, physically and mentally, she wasn't against the idea of him doing a safer job.

But would he want her to quit to? She couldn't expect him to be happy about her doing the job she wanted him to leave to stay safe.

Did she even want to stay a US Marshal? Could she really live in the fear of something happening to her, which would break Marshall's heart and leave Jack motherless?

She leaned back against the headrest on the chair and closed her eyes. Her head was beginning to pound. She had no idea what to do….she had no idea how to fix this and for once in her life she wanted to hide anyway, from everyone and everything.

**TBC**

**Please review! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry it's taken so long to update this chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and getting me to 100! Please keep them coming! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet… Mess**

"Mary?"

She turned when she heard her name being called and saw Stan walked down the corridor towards her.

"Hey, you're here early." Mary commented, turning back to the machine to grab her coffee before facing her boss again.

"I wanted to get here before everyone else…" He replied. "How is he doing?"

"Slept all night and still asleep now."

"And you?"

She shrugged. "I got a couple of hours…"

"Do you think he'll see me?" Stan asked. "I've been doing some digging and wanted to go over some things with him."

"What sort of things?" Mary questioned and then rolled her eyes when Stan hesitated. "Come on, I'm going to hear it all in two minutes anyway…"

"Okay, I haven't be able to find out much but about four months ago, Marshall was leading a team that was transporting a teenager who had ran away from home after finding out her family would be entering the program…They managed to track her down In Austin but so had the people that was after he father." Stan explained. "To save himself Marshall had to shoot to kill."

Mary frowned a little. "Okay, but he's been in the position before."

"Well, this is where things get a little sketchy…You know, it's standard procedure that after something like that, he would have needed to have a psych evaluation…"

"And he never?"

"He had one session and was booked for more but a case from our office called him back, I was never told and the paperwork got lost somewhere."

"Why wouldn't Marshall tell you or me?" Mary asked in frustration. "He knows the rules…I thought he was the good one…the one that followed protocol…Why is it just now that I'm finding out he doesn't?"

"Because normally when he's breaking the rules, you're with him." Stan said calmly. "But that's not all…"

"Oh good…There's more." She said sarcastically.

"Apparently, there was some kind of incident and the transfer went wrong due to a mistake made by a local cop who had been helping out." Stan continued. "According to what I've heard, Marshall should have never been put in the position where he had to defend himself."

"What?"

"The officer in question has been suspended pending an investigation…Some aren't convinced it was a mistake and that they intentionally put Marshall in danger."

"Why would they do that?" She asked. "Do they have links with the people after the witness?"

"I couldn't get any more information."

"What does that mean? Is there no more information because they don't know anything or are they keep quiet about something?"

"I accused them of protecting this cop and they insisted they weren't…Apparently, your partner got to them first…Asked them to keep quiet about all this."

"Marshall did?" Mary asked in surprise.

"Yes, which is why I want to talk to him…See what he has to say about it all."

"Let's go." Mary was already walking back towards Marshall's room but stopped and glanced back at Stan when they reached the door and heard voices.

Pushing the door open and fully, she saw Allison Pearson stood beside Marshall's bed.

"What are you doing here?" Mary demanded.

"Mare…" Marshall sighed.

"I'm sorry to intrude but I just wanted to see how Marshal Mann was feeling." She flashed a smile.

"He's been worked so hard by you that he collapsed with exhaustion." Mary folded her arms and glared at her. "How do you think he's feeling?"

"Mary, leave it." Marshall told her from the bed. "It's not her fault…It's my own."

"No, Marshall…You should have never been put under all that pressure." Stan moved past Mary and closer to him. "It's partly my fault that I let you run yourself into the ground."

"Well, the main thing is that you get better." Allison turned back to look at him. "We have a lot to discuss about your future."

"No, we don't…" Marshall replied, shaking his head. "You'll have to find someone else…I'm done."

"I don't think you understand…it means a promotion…You'll jump several ranks and…"

"Didn't you hear him…He doesn't want it." Mary cut in.

"Stan…" Allison looked to Stan for support.

"I'm sorry but if he's happy where he is then I want to keep him here." Stan told her.

"I'm not." Marshall added. "When I said I'm done…I mean I'm done with it all…I'm leaving the Marshal Service."

"Okay, wait a minute…" Stan started.

"No, I've made up my mind." Marshall claimed. "You'll have it in writing as soon as possible but I'm not coming back, Stan."

"Marshall?" Mary looked at him surprise.

"I told you, I can't do it anymore." He replied. "I know I said I would try but everything that has happened just proves I'm not up to it."

"If this is about what happened in Austin then I can assure you, you did nothing wrong." Allison told him. "I know you must feel like we've let you down and we're going to fix that…And I am personally seeing to that the people at fault…"

"I was at fault." Marshall said. "It was my fault things went wrong..."

"I don't understand." Allison glanced at Mary and Stan before back to him. "All reports say it was due to neglect from one officer that allowed the suspects to find you and it was your quick thinking that saved the lives of your team and the witness."

"The reports are wrong." Marshall looked down. "It was because of me that people almost got killed…"

"But…" Allison started but the door opened and a nurse walked in, surprise to see all the people.

"I'm sorry but there is only meant to be one visit at a time…" She told them.

"We'll just be a minute." Allison replied.

"You should just go." Mary told her.

Allison sighed in defeat. "Marshall, please give me a call once you're feeling better and we'll have a proper conversation about this…"

"I've said all I've had to say."

"Please, just call me."

Stan ignored the glare he was receiving off the nurse and remained where he was.

"Stan, you should probably get to work." Mary told him.

"Okay, I'll go." He nodded. "Marshall, I'm not accepting your resignation…not yet…not until you've had time to think."

"It's all I've thought about for the last four months…It's almost cost me everything…It still might."

"Sir, I'm sorry but Mr. Mann needs rest…You're not helping." The nurse said firmly, taking note at how tense her patient looked.

"Just…let me know if you need anything." He looked at Marshall again. "Anything at all…I want to help."

Marshall didn't reply he just kept his head down.

Mary followed Stan to the door and out to the corridor. "What the hell is going on?"

"I'm going to keep on digging but I wasn't expecting this." Stan admitted. "I think he might be serious about quitting."

"He's mentioned a few times while we were away but I just thought he needed time." Mary replied. "We need to find out what went down in Austin."

"I'll try my best." Stan replied. "You let me know if there is anything either of you need."

"Yeah, will do."

When she returned to Marshall's room, the nurse was writing something down of his chart and Marshall was led on his side with his back to the door.

She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed once the nurse left them alone. "Marshall?"

When she got no response, she placed a hand on his arm. "Marshall, will you talk to me about it?"

"Not yet." He whispered.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

"That once you know the truth you'll leave me." He replied, still refusing to the look at her. "That you'll take Jackson and won't nothing more to do with me."

"Marshall, that won't happen, I love you." She insisted. "And Jackson is your son; I would never take him away from you…I know what it's like growing up without a father, remember."

He finally rolled back over. "I do love you, Mare…I would walk to the end of the world for you…I would do anything for you….That's why I wanted to marry you yesterday."

"I want to marry you to but it wasn't right …You weren't yourself and I want us both fully there when we say 'I do'…" She told him. "I am going to marry you, Marshall…So don't worry…We don't need to do it quickly, I'm not going anywhere."

"You can't promise that." He shook his head. "Just like you said I couldn't promise not to die…You can't promise me that you won't want to walk away."

"You're not making any sense." She told him. "Why would I walk away? Has this got something to do with what happened in Austin?"

"I killed a 21 year old college boy." He whispered. "He wasn't a criminal…He was just there because he was scared of his father…I killed him when I didn't have to."

"That's not true…Stan has seen the reports…He told me if you didn't kill him, he would have killed you…Even Allison said you did what you had to do to save other people….You did your job."

"He was a scared kid who didn't know what he was doing…I could have talked him down…He reacted in self-defenses…I got it wrong and because of that people hurt."

"People?" Mary repeated. "I thought it was just the one."

He rolled back over, shutting her out once again. She watched him, waiting to see what he would do next but he did nothing. He was really beginning to freak her out; she had never seen him like this before. She thought back to when they were in Phoenix and her biggest concern was that he wasn't getting enough sleep now she had no clue what was going on.

"Marshall?" He didn't move or reply. "Okay, I'll let you sleep for a little longer…I'm going to get some breakfast…Do you want anything?"

"No, thanks."

"Okay, I won't be long." She got to her feet and went to turn away but instead leaned down and kissed his cheek. "I love you."

It was the first time she had said it and he didn't reply. As she made her way to the door, she bit her lip to stop herself from crying. She couldn't help but feel that their relationship was in a big trouble but she had no idea why.

Once she was out of the room, she closed the door and leaned back against her. Squeezing her eyes shut tightly in an attempt not to cry. She couldn't fall apart, not now. She needed advice and she needed it fast, so she pulled out her cell phone and scrolled down her contact list until she found the number, she swore she would never call willingly.

"Yeah, hi…I need to talk to Dr. Finkel…Can you tell her it's urgent? Yeah, it's Mary Shannon."

She walked down the corridor towards a row of chairs and sat down while she wanted to Shelley to pick up.

"Mary?"

"Marshall needs help."

"I heard, I spoke with Chief McQueen…I'm recommending someone I've worked a lot with…"

"I know, he said but he needs help now…" She cut in. "I need help."

There was a pause before Shelley spoke again. "What's going on?"

"Four months ago, he worked on a case and there were some things that went wrong… but it's only now that it's all coming out." Mary told her. "I mean, he's been working really hard the last few months and a little distant but…Why now? Why not then?"

"Could be a delay reaction." Shelley suggested. "Can you tell me anymore about what happened?"

"I don't know much about it myself…The reports says he shot someone to save himself and others…They say he's a hero and that another cop screwed up...they're now suspended pending an investigation."

"What does Marshall say?"

"That's it was his fault and that he had to shoot the guy when he didn't need to and because of him people got hurt."

"People? Do you know who he's referring to?"

"No, like I said…I don't know much." Mary sighed. "I'm still stuck on maternity leave and this wasn't case from our office…He had been loaned out so Stan doesn't know many details either."

"Has he said much about the officer that's being investigated?"

"Not really…he's just said it was his fault."

"And they're quite sure that it was this other officer that was at fault and not Marshall?"

"Marshall doesn't make mistakes and if he did, he would have owned up a long time ago."

"Maybe he tried…"

"Stan looked into it and the reports say that it wasn't Marshall." Mary claimed. "And Allison Pearson personally came down here today and told him that it was because of his actions and quick think that saved the team he was leading and the witness."

"Okay, so maybe he feels guilty because he was leading the team….If this guy was under his command maybe Marshall feels like it's his fault he screwed up."

"I guess…" Mary said but was unconvinced. "But why would he react like this now? Why has it taken four months before we noticed there was something wrong?"

"There's a chance he could be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder…I can't say for certain since I haven't spoken to him myself…But it's possible he's ignore his feelings and tried to act normal…" Shelley told her. "Is there anything that could have happened recently that may have triggered a flashback or a memory?"

Mary thought about the car chase and the confrontation with the gang Danny had been involved in. She remembered the night she found him in the middle of a nightmare and how he woke up, scared out of his mind. She had thought he was worried about her and Jackson being hurt but after what he had just said, she wondered whether he was scared she would leave him.

"Yeah, it's possible."

"He needs to talk to someone as soon as possible…I can recommend someone but if its needs to be someone linked to the Marshal Service for security then it needs to be done sooner rather than later." Shelley advised.

"I'll talk to Stan…"

"And Mary, don't push him…" She added. "If he wants to talk then that's okay…but if not, then don't try to force him….He might end up saying something that will hurt you both…"

"Yeah, sure….I'm not so good at the talk stuff anything." She tried to joke.

"If you need to talk to someone, you have my number."

"Thanks, Shelley…I owe you one."

"Any time…I hope everything works out….Marshall is a good man."

"Yeah…He is."

Once she hung up the phone, she immediately pressed number three on her speed dial to call Stan.

"Hey, it me…"

"Everything okay?" Stan questioned.

"I called Shelley Finkel and asked her advice." She told him. "She thinks he could have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."

She heard Stan let out a loud sighed. "I had a horrible feeling that might be suggested."

"She says he needs to talk to some soon…Can you chase up this doctor that Pearson is recommending?"

"Yeah, I'll call her now."

"And we need to find out what happened in Austin…Something not right, Stan…I know there is more then we're being told."

"I agree."

"All those people wouldn't be lying about Marshall doing things right and this other guy screwing up, so why does Marshall think differently?"

"Maybe whoever it is, Marshall is trying to protect him."

"But why?"

"I'll see what I can find out."

"Thanks, Stan…"

"I'll let you know if I get anywhere." He told her. "And you call me if anything chance."

"You got it."

Mary cancelled the call and led her head back against the wall. Her mind was going into over drive thinking about the past four months; trying to remember anything that could help her figure out what was going through Marshall's head.

**TBC**

**Okay, so not a happy chapter! (Fits my mood after England's Euro12 result. Why cannot we take penalties!) Took a pretty drastic turn…I don't know why I keep doing these things to Marshall…He's my favorite character, honestly. Please review and let me know what you think! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry it's taken so long to update! Thanks to everyone that has reviewed! I hope you like this! Please review and let me know! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

Mary absently stirred her coffee, staring straight ahead in the hospital cafeteria. It had been four days since Marshall had been admitted into hospital and he seemed to be getting better. He was eating properly and rest well…He was beginning to become his old self again.

The only problem was he was still insisting he was quitting the Marshal Service.

She could accept that if she truly thought it was what he wanted but she believed that it was because of what happened in Austin. They still hadn't managed to find much out about it. She was meeting Stan now to get an update on the digging he had been doing.

"Mary, how's he doing?" Stan arrived, taking a seat opposite her.

"The doctor said he could be released today." She replied. "But has advised he continues to talks to a psychiatrist."

"What has Marshall said about that?"

"He agreed…Said he just wants to get out of here and get on with his life." Mary sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"You look exhausted…Are you getting any rest yourself?"

"A bit but between coming here and taking care of Jackson….He's unsettled without Marshall being around." Mary told him, wrapping both her hands around the coffee mug. "I'll just be glad when he's home…"

"Has he said anymore about work?"

"Just that he's not returning." She told him. "Have you found out anything about Austin?"

"Everyone is being pretty tight lipped about it, which makes me wonder if this officer is a local guy and they're trying to protect him." Stan answered.

"And the hell with Marshall, who almost got killed because of them?" Mary exclaimed.

"From what we've been told, Marshall asked them to keep quiet so maybe they think they're doing him a favor." Stan glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to them after her outburst.

"Why would he want to protect him?"

"If this guy made a mistake by accident, maybe Marshall feels responsible or if he was rogue cop, he could blame himself for not noticing."

"Shelley suggested that." Mary replied. "What do you think happened?"

"Well, I think if it was a rogue cop, he would be custody by now and I don't think so many people would be willing to help them." Stan stated. "I was also able to find out that the investigation has been held up due to the fact that he has been admitted to a Psychiatric hospital."

"He had a break down?"

"Either that or he's using it as a cover for his screw up." Stan shrugged. "But it would make sense…If this guy had trouble coping with the pressure of the job; Marshall may feel bad for not noticing."

"But why isn't anyone telling us anything?" Mary wondered. "If that was the case then why not just say that…"

"I don't know." Stan replied. "I talked to Seth, asked him to do some digging as well."

"You think he'll be able to help?"

"Well, Marshall somehow managed to pull some strings to get people to keep their mouths shut…It's possible he called in some favors from friends of Seth's."

"I can't see Marshall doing that." Mary told him. "He never wanted any help with his career from his Dad before."

"I just thought it was worth a shot….I'm running out of ideas myself, so until Marshall, his team or Allison Pearson start talking then we've got nothing."

"Allison still not giving anything away?"

"Just that it's been looked into and the person responsible will be dealt with."

"It still doesn't feel right, Stan." Mary sighed. "I don't think this is just about the job…"

"What do you mean?"

"He's worried that I'll leave him and take Jack away from him."

"Have you asked him why?"

"He just says he's not ready to tell me."

Stan reached over and squeezed her hand. "We'll work all this out…"

"I hope so."

"It's good that he's agreed to talk to someone and maybe in a few days he'll be willing to open up to us."

"I'm just scared about what we'll find out."

"Whatever it is…We'll deal with together."

_**xXxXx**_

"Are you coming to bed?"

Marshall turned around and saw Mary stood in the doorway. He had got home from the hospital that afternoon and while he was glad to be out, he didn't know what to say to Mary or his family, who had come over for dinner. He had slipped away to check on Jack before dessert and had not returned. He glanced at the clock and saw that almost two hours had passed.

"I didn't realize the time." He said weakly.

She gave him a small smile. "Don't worry about it…I saved you some pie."

"My family gone?"

"Yeah, they asked me to tell you goodnight."

He sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She told him, taking his hand and leading him out of Jackson's bedroom and to their room. "You've had a hard couple of days….Months."

He sat down of the edge of the bed and covered his face with his hands. "My head feels like it's going to explode."

She knelled on the bed behind him and massaged his shoulders gently. "Talk to me."

She remembered what Shelly had said about not pushing him but she had to at least try. She wasn't the most patient person in the world and wanted to shake him until some information fell out but knew that approach wouldn't work with him.

He stayed silent and Mary decided that it was a good thing he didn't tell her no. She ran her hands over his shoulders and down his chest, resting her cheek on the top of his head.

"Marshall…" She said softly. "Why won't you tell me what happened?"

"Because I can't explain it." He whispered. "I can't explain why it happened, why I let it happen or why I've reacted to it like this…I don't want you to get the wrong idea."

She frowned. "I don't understand…What wrong idea?"

"That I don't love you enough." He admitted. "But I do, Mary…You and Jack are everything to me and I would die a thousand times over and kill a million people for you both but just because I'm willing to, don't mean it still doesn't hurt."

"Marshall, I know you love me…And I know how it feels to have to take someone else's life." She tightened her hold onto him, hoping he would get the message. "What I don't know, is how this all connected…Why would I leave you because you protected yourself from being killed?"

"Can we talk about it another time?" He asked.

She opened her mouth to protest but Shelly's words came back to her again. "If that's what you want…."

"I'm sorry, Mare…" He shifted a little so he could face her. "I just want to get it clear in my head first so I can explain it to you."

"I understood." She lied and climbed off the bed.

She stood in front of him and pulled him to his feet before putting her hands behind his neck and bringing him down for a kiss. He kissed back, circling his own arms around her waist but pulled back when she tried to remove his t-shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"I can respect that you're not ready to talk about whatever happened… That's fine, I'm willing to wait." She told him, dropping the shirt to the floor. "But while I do wait, I'm going to make sure I show you how much I do love you…How much I need you."

"Mary…"

She undid his belt and shoved his jeans down, then moved him so he stepped out of them before pushing back down onto the bed. She climbed on top of him and kissed him again.

"Let me do this for you." She whispered, her lips moving down his neck. "Let me love you."

He let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes, moaning quietly in agreement.

_**XxXxX**_

Seth hung up his cell phone and leaned back in his chair. After making calls all day at Stan's request, he finally thinks he managed to get to the bottom of his son's problem. He had called all his friends, asking questions but none of them had answers. He had given up for the night when they headed over to Mary and Marshall's for dinner but halfway through the meal, he remembered a conversation he had with Marshall almost a year ago. At the time, he had not really been paying attention to what was being said but remembered Austin being brought up.

So once they were back in the hotel and Sarah had gone to take a shower, he picked up the phone and called a man, who had every right to hang up on him. Instead, the guy wasn't surprised at all to get the phone call from Seth and was more than willing to help.

Everything fell into place. He now understood Marshall's strong reaction to his brothers and Mother doubting his relationship with Mary. Why he took a sudden turn for the worst after everything that happened with Danny and that gang. Why he felt he wasn't capable of being a Marshal anymore.

"Seth?" Sarah placed a hand on his arm, causing him to jump. "Are you okay? I called your name three times…"

He ran a hand over his face. "Sorry, I got lost in thought."

"What's wrong? What's happened?"

"Nothing…Don't worry." He stood up and kissed the top of her head. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"I just need to talk to Danny about something."

Chris, Nathan and Danny were all sharing the hotel room next to theirs and when Seth knocked, Nathan answered, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Dad?" He squinted against the light. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I just need to talk to Danny about something…"

"What's going on?" Chris appeared, being woken by the knocking.

"Dad needs to talk to Danny…"

"He's asleep."

"Wake him…It's important."

Chris and Nathan glanced at each other. "It's can't wait till morning?"

"No."

Chris sighed. "Come in…"

"I'll make some coffee." Nathan added.

Seth watched as Chris shook Danny awake and he did feel a little guilty for not leaving it until the morning but he wanted to get all the fact straight before he talked to Marshall.

"Grandpa?" Danny looked at him curiously.

"I'm sorry to wake you, kiddo but there some questions I need to ask you." Seth said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What questions?"

"What happened that night Uncle Marshall got hurt?"

Danny frowned. "I've already told you..."

"You said he came in and Jase knocked him to the floor then the rest of the gang attacked him."

"Yeah…" Danny nodded. "That's pretty much it."

"So, as soon as he was on the floor, he was hit?"

"No….They talked for a bit…Jase and Uncle Marshall…"

"Talked?"

"Jase something about him being in trouble and then asked him if he was scared…"

"And Marshall stayed down on the floor?" Chris questioned, frowning.

"Yeah."

"He didn't try and fight back?"

"No because Jase pulled a gun."

"A gun?" Seth repeated.

"Yeah, he put it to Uncle Marshall's head." Danny admitted. "I thought he was going to shoot him."

Chris cursed quietly, having no idea it had been that serious. He couldn't help but feel guilty for not appreciating what his brother had gone through for his son.

"What happened next?"

"Uncle Marshall told him he was just hiding behind his weapons and that if it was a fair fight, he would win." Danny explained. "Jase put the gun away and started kicking him then before he could defend himself, the others got involved."

"How did you get out of there?"

"Jase started to taunt us…asking what Dad would do when he found Uncle Marshall dead…He went to hit him around the head with a baseball bat but Uncle Marshall somehow managed to get back up…" Danny told them. "I don't know how but the next thing I know, Jase is against the wall with the bat pressed against his throat and Uncle Marshall is aiming his gun at the others."

"Then you left?"

"Uncle Marshall told Jase that if he came near any of us again, he would go back…"

Seth sighed. "Okay, thanks Danny…Go back to sleep."

"Is Uncle Marshall going to be okay?"

"Of course." Seth assured him, hoping he was right. "I'll see you in the morning."

Chris and Nathan followed Seth to the door.

"Dad, what's going on?" Nathan asked.

"What's all this got to do with Danny?" Chris asked. "I thought Marshall's problem started a few months back…"

"I think we just found the trigger that caused him to flashback to whatever it was that happened in Austin." Seth told them. "Look, don't worry about it now…get some sleep."

"Wait." Nathan stopped him. "Do you know what happened?"

"I have a hunch, yeah."

"Are you going to share it with us?" Chris asked impatiently.

"Not yet, no." He shook his head. "I'll see you in the morning."

**TBC**

**The plot thickens! Seth to the rescue? Please review and let me know what you think!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Here's the next chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Please keep them coming! **

**Enjoy! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

Mary groaned when there was a knock on the door. It was only 10am and Marshall's parents, brothers and nephew had already turned up; she didn't know if she could handle any more visitors. She glanced in Marshall's direction and saw he had Jackson on his lap while he read the morning newspaper, but Mary knew he wasn't actually reading and that he was just using it an excuse not to talk to anyone.

She was surprised and grateful to find only Stan on her doorstep. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Just thought I'd check in." Her boss replied. "How are things going?"

"Marshall's family is here and he busy ignoring them." She shrugged and stepped aside.

"Has he said anything at all?" He asked, walking into the house.

"Just that he's trying to get his head around whatever happened before he talks to me about it."

"Well, that's promising…" Stan commented.

"I guess…" She sighed. "I just wish I knew what we were dealing with."

"We'll get there." Stan promised.

Marshall glanced up when he heard his boss' voice and looked at him curiously.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Stan asked, giving Marshall a smile.

"Fine…" He replied, folding the paper and stood. "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to see how you were doing…" Stan answered, a little surprised at Marshall's unwelcoming tone.

"You don't need to check up on me." Marshall told him, handing Jack over to Mary. "I'm fine."

They watched as Marshall walked into the kitchen without a second glance. "Well, that was weird."

"Don't worry about it." Stan told her.

"Marshall was just rude…He's never rude…He's always polite...too polite sometimes."

"He's just stressed, Mary…probably worried I've come to pressure him about the job." Stan assured her.

"I guess…Can you hold him for a minute while I grab him a blanket."

"Of course…" Stan grinned and held out his arms. "Come here, little man."

Marshall placed both his hands on the kitchen counter, taking deep breaths, trying to ease the tightness in his chest. He didn't want Stan here; trying to interfere…He didn't want his family here, trying to fix something they knew nothing about. He just wanted his space to get his head around everything so he could figure out what his next step is.

"Marshall?"

He let out a frustrated groan. "What, Chris?"

"Can we talk?"

"No…"

"Come on…"

"Chris, I'm really not in the mood for an argument right now…"

"I don't want an argument." Chris insisted. "I wanted to thank you."

"For what?" Marshall kept his head down.

"For helping Danny…"

"He's my nephew, Chris…What the hell do you think I was going to do?" Marshall questioned. "Of course, I'm going to help him."

"I know that…" Chris replied, hating how difficult it was to talk to his younger brother. "But to have a gun pulled on you…"

Marshall stood up straight. "What?"

Chris took a step back in surprise at the sudden movement. "Danny said that Collins guy had a gun…"

"Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Well, with everything that happened, I didn't quite realize what exactly went on…I was an idiot and I'm sorry for not being there for my son or for you." Chris continued. "When Danny told Dad last night that…"

"Last night?"

"Yeah, Dad was asking him questions…"

"About me?"

"Marshall…." Chris frowned in concern.

"What's going on?"

Marshall spun around to face his father. "What are you doing asking Danny questions about me?"

"I wanted to find out what happened that night…." Seth answered calmly. "You weren't willing to talk…"

Marshall shook his head. "I want you to go…"

"Marshall, come on…" Chris reached a hand out to him. "We just want to help."

He shoved his brother's hand away from him. "I want you all out this house…I don't want you here."

Chris looked back to Seth stunned as Marshall stormed out of the kitchen and back to the living room.

"Marshall?" Mary questioned when she saw the state he was in. "What's going on?"

"Nothing…" He told her but his fists were clenched tightly at the side of him. "Nothing…It's fine."

"Is it worth it?" Seth asked, from the doorway.

"What?" Marshall turned to look at him again.

"All this…" Seth gestured around the room. "Is it worth it?"

Marshall shook his head in attempt to clear the pounding headache. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Maybe we should all just calm down…" Stan suggested, looking between the two men.

"Good idea." Sarah agreed. "Marshall, honey, why don't you take a seat?"

"This life you have mapped out for yourself…A woman you've loved from afar for years…a readymade family…a job where you can tell people as little as you want…"

Marshal shook his head and paced in small circles, his hands on his hips.

"Is it worth it, Marshall?" Seth stepped closer to him. "Do you have regrets?"

"Look, maybe you should go…" Mary cut in.

"Marshall? Do you have regrets?" Seth ignored everyone in the room and kept his eyes on his son. "Do you regret Mary and Jackson?"

Marshall's head snapped up and he glared angrily at his Dad. "No."

"Not at all?"

"Dad?" Nathan stepped in front of him but Seth just moved around him.

"Seth, leave it." Stan advised, shooting Marshall a concern look. "You're only getting him worked up and he needs rest."

"He's my son…I know what he needs."

"You know what I need?" Marshall spat. "You're about 40 years late to be playing the doting Dad role."

"Look, everyone is upset so why don't you just take a breather before something gets said that will be regretted?" Stan suggested calmly.

"I know what happened, Marshall…" Seth told him. "I know what you've been through."

"No, you don't…" He claimed. "You have no idea…"

"I spoke with Ken Chaffee."

There was a silence in the room and Marshall froze in one spot, staring at his father.

"Chaffee?" Stan repeated, he glanced at Mary but saw she looked just as surprised as him. "As in Abigail Chaffee?"

"You spoke to her Dad?" Marshall whispered.

Seth nodded. "I remembered you saying her parents lived in Austin…I thought after the break up, she might have headed there."

Marshall looked down the floor, all the anger seemed to have drained of him and he just looked defeated. "How is she?"

"Forget about her…" Seth told him, stepping closer. "This is about you…"

"How is she?" He lifted his head to look at his Dad. "Is she okay?"

"He said she's doing better…" Seth sighed. "They're hoping she'll be allowed home by the end of the week."

"Home?" Mary finally joined in the conversation. "From where? What's going on?"

Marshall turned to face her. "I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what?" She asked. "What's Abby got to do with all this?"

"Marshall…" Seth tried to get his attention again. "This isn't your fault…You did nothing wrong"

"I did." He insisted, turning back to his Dad. "I broke her heart…"

"She's a big girl…She knew what she was getting involved in." Seth reasoned. "You might have hurt her but that does not excuse what she did…"

"But…"

"No, Marshall…Nothing you ever did can justify it."

"You don't understand…" He claimed.

"Then talk to me….What don't I get?" He questioned.

"She's a good person…A good cop…" Marshall stuttered a little. "And I….I made her…"

"Made her what?" Seth pushed. "Come on, Marshall tell me what it is?"

"I screwed up…" He choked a little on the words. "I screwed up and someone died because of me…a guy, barely an adult…"

"Seth…" Stan tried to interfere again but Mary put a hand on his arm to stop him.

When this had all started, she was ready to throw Seth and the rest of Marshall's family out for questioning their relationship again but now she had worked out what he was doing. She thought back to their army witness, John and how Marshall had helped Provo provoke him until he talked about what had really happened. She wasn't sure whether it was the right method to get the information, Shelly's voice telling her not to push Marshall bounced around in her head but she was tired of not knowing what had happened.

"Not because of you…" Seth shook his head. "He was there to kill people…He would have killed you."

Marshall closed his eyes, taking a few deeps breaths and tried to think straight but there was a buzzing in his ears what was getting louder and he could hear screaming…he could hear Abigail screaming.

"What happened, Marshall?" Seth questioned further, moving even closer to him. "What did Abigail do?"

"She….left." He stuttered. "She left me there…She left me there to die."

There were a few gasps around the room but Seth's attention didn't weaver from Marshall. "You did nothing wrong…"

"I did…" He whispered, tears filling his eyes. "I did that to her…I made her do it."

"Marshall, no…"

"She's a good person…And I promised her to the world…Promised her a fairytale even though I knew she wasn't the one I wanted…" He started to ramble. "I walked away from her without a second thought… I broke her heart….And I drove her to the edge…"

"No, Marshall…."

"She wanted to kill me…" He fall back against the wall and slide down. "I thought I was going to die…..I thought she was going to kill me."

Seth dropped down to the floor in front of him without hesitation. He swallowed back his own tears, seeing his son like this killed him but he knew the only way Marshall was going to admit what happened was if he was pushed. The phrase, '_You have to break something before you can fix it'_ flashed through his mind….He just hated that he had to be the one to do it.

He reached out, put a hand behind Marshall's neck and pulled him forward. He was surprised when Marshall didn't resist, lowering his legs so he could get closer to his Dad.

Seth held onto him tightly, thinking back to when Marshall was about four or five and had been running towards the playground at their local park but his little legs weren't fast enough to keep up with his older brothers. He ended up falling over and scraping his knee. It was one of the few times Seth could remember comforting him. He had picked up his youngest when he cried and then sat on a bench with him because he refused to be put back down. He had been working away a lot at the time and as he sat there with a content Marshall in his arms, just watching his brothers competing with each other on the swings, he realized what he had been missing out on.

Now some 35 years later, he was in a similar situation…Trying to comfort his son, thinking about how distant they had become since that day in the park. He knew this time he would be able to fix things with a cuddle and a promise of an ice cream cone.

He felt a hand on his back and glancing over his shoulder, he saw Sarah crouched behind him, tears streaming down her face. He knew she wanted to go to Marshall, to help and protect him but she didn't know what to do.

He caught movement from behind his wife and saw Danny staring widened eyed with shock and fear as Chris and Nathan tried to usher him back into the kitchen. He then turned when he heard Stan's voice across the room and saw the Chief was barking angrily into his cell phone; Seth guessed he was talking to whoever Marshall had been reporting to during the case.

When he looked for Mary, he just caught a glimpse of her slipping out the door to the backyard. He sighed quietly, hoping that she would be patient and listen to what actually happened. Not jump to conclusions and prove Marshall's fears right.

He pulled Marshall closer to him, bringing his head to his chest and took a shaky breath as his son gripped onto his shirt as tight as he could.

Seth said the only thing he could think of…The same thing he said to him that day in the park.

"It's okay…I got you…We'll make the pain go away…I promise…"

**TBC**

**Dun, dun daaaaa…. **

**Okay, so you've probably guessed by now that I like cliffhangers! Lol! I hope you all enjoyed this! Please review let me know what you think! (For the record, I like Abigail and thought she was good for Marshall…If he hadn't been so obviously in love with Mary.) **


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys, I'm glad I surprised you all with the Abigail twist…This may be a little bit out of character for her but hopefully not too unbelievable. Please review and let me know what you think! **

**Enjoy!**

**Home Sweet…Mess**

"Do you want me to call that doctor you've been talking to?" Seth asked Marshall softly, breaking the silence. They were now sat side by side on the couch; Marshall with a mug of warm, sugary tea that Sarah insisted on making him.

Marshall shook his head wordlessly, staring down at the untouched tea.

"Are you hungry?" Seth moved to stand up.

"No, Dad…" Marshall finally spoke, his voice hoarse and he leaned forward, rested his elbow on his knee and rubbed his eyes.

"Headache?"

"Yeah…"

"I'll get you some painkillers." Seth reached down and took the mug, knowing he wouldn't drink it.

Once his Dad had left the room, Marshall leaned back again, sighing loudly. He was an idiot for thinking he could stop any of them from finding out what had happened. He was an idiot for even wanting to. He had always encouraged people to be open to their love ones with their feelings…He had constantly pushed Mary into letting him in the barriers she put up. Now he felt like a hypercritic.

"Here…" Seth nudged his knee with his own leg and when Marshall sat up; he saw a glass of water, a pack of painkillers and a plate of cookies were being held out to him. Marshall raised an eyebrow in surprise at the items. "What? You never used to take any medication unless we bribed you with cookies."

Marshall placed the cookies on the coffee table and threw two painkillers into his mouth, swallowing them with the water.

"Where did everyone go?" Marshall questioned. He couldn't really remember much of what happened. He remembered arguing with his Dad and he remembered losing it with everyone watching. Now he wondered why it was just him and his Dad left.

"Your brothers took Danny and Mom back to the hotel…They thought it might be better to get out the way for a while." Seth told him. "And Stan headed back to work…he said something about meeting with Allison Pearson."

"And Mary?" He asked quietly.

"She's in the bedroom." Seth answered. He had watched her quietly sneak back into the house after 30 minutes of being outside. He had hoped that she would want to talk to Marshall but they had still been on the floor and Sarah had been fussing over him with no response.

"Are you mad?" Marshall refused to look up at him.

"Mad?" Seth repeated. "Why would I be mad?"

Marshall shrugged. "I failed…screwed up…"

"Marshall." Seth cut him off. "Look at me."

Marshall slowly lifted his head but Seth noticed his grip on the glass tightened.

"You did not screw up. You understand?" Seth said firmly. "I don't believe for one second that you intentionally set out to hurt Abigail…I remember how you talked about her…I knew you liked her but you can't help who you love…You were in love with Mary…You can't live without her…No good would have come from staying with Abigail when you were that committed to someone else."

"I know that…In my head I know you are right…"

"But?" Seth promoted.

"But it still doesn't change the fact I hurt her so much, she turned into someone else." Marshall replied. "I know you never meet her but she was a good person…kind, loving…She wouldn't hurt anyone intentionally but that day…that day, she hated me."

"If it helps, she is sorry."

Marshall looked up again quickly at his words.

"Her father said that she regrets what she did…that she never truly meant to hurt you and she didn't know what she was doing." Seth continued. "She hasn't been sleeping very well and was prescribed some pills…Things spiraled from there."

"I'm glad she's doing better." He claimed.

"Maybe now you can both move on…" Seth suggested. "Abigail reaction was not normal and you need to realize that."

He nodded a little and looked down again, deep in thought.

"It's time to forget about other people, Marshall...You spend all your time trying to helping everyone and make sure everyone is happy….Now you need to put yourself first…Asking yourself what and who you want."

"I know that answer."

Seth reached over and patted his arm. "Then don't like anyone or anything stand in your way…"

"Thanks, Dad."

"How's the headache?"

"Getting better."

"Lie down…Get a bit of sleep." Seth suggested, standing up to give him some room."

Marshall shook his head. "I need to talk to Mary."

Seth nodded understandingly. "Okay, well I'll go back to the hotel then…Unless you need me to stay?"

"No, go…Make sure Mom and the others are okay."

"Don't you go worrying about them." Seth told him. "They're fine."

"I'll give you a call later." Marshall gave him a small smile as he stood up.

"You better." Seth warned and hesitated before hugging him again. "I love you, Marshall…not matter what you choose, do or say….You're my son and I'll always be here for you."

Marshall felt tears burning in his eyes again. At least this situation had helped both him and his Dad figure out their relationship.

"Now go talk to Mary…Be honest with her…Trust her." Seth advised. "I don't think she'll let you down."

"Thanks, Dad." Marshall said roughly, pulling back and wiping his eyes with the back of his hands.

He walked to their bedroom, stopping outside the door and took a deep breath before knocking quietly then opening it.

"Hey."

Mary was sat on the bed, looking out the window but turned quickly in surprise. "Hey."

"Can we talk?" He asked, still stood in the doorway.

She shrugged. "That's up to you."

He ran a hand over his face. "Everything is so messed up, Mare."

"Why didn't you tell me it was Abigail?" She couldn't resist asking. "You think I'm the kind of girlfriend who will throw a jealous fit over an ex?"

"No, that wasn't it…"

"Then what was it?"

He closed the door and sat beside her. "I've waited so long for this, Mare…For us to be together…"

"I know."

"And everything was going great but even before Austin I was scared."

"Of what?"

"Of something happening that would make you push me away." He admitted. "I'm sorry…"

She looked down at her hands; she couldn't blame him. She had been doing that her whole life…Never allowing anyone to get too close to her. She had known for a while that Marshall had been the exception...That no matter how hard she pushed, he would not leave. That scared her more than anything and she knew that he knew that. Which is why when things got too much for her, he took a step back, to give her space. Then Jackson came along and she saw things differently. She knew that if she didn't let Marshall in to that last little part of heart, then it wouldn't just be her missing out but Jackson too.

"I thought…I didn't know how to deal with what Abigail did." Marshall spoke after a few minutes of silence. "She did what she did because of our break up and she was angry with me…She hated me…"

"Marshall…"

"I felt guilty…I felt like I was to blame…" He didn't let her interrupt him. "I guess a part of me still feels that way."

"And you thought I might think that you loved her and regretted choosing me?" She predicted her eyes flicked up to meet his. "Do you?"

"Regret choosing you? No."

"Do you love her?"

"No."

"Did you?"

He sighed. "That's complicated."

"No, Marshall…It's really not."

"In some way, yes I did." He admitted. "But I fell in love with you a long time ago and whatever Abigail and I had could never compete with what we have."

"What does 'in some way', mean?"

"I wanted to fall in love with her…We had fun together and shared a lot of interests…If you weren't around, if I didn't already have feelings for you then yeah, maybe Abigail and I were perfect for each other." He tried to explain. "But no matter how many favorite movies we had in common or how many times she listened happily to my trivia, I always knew I wanted someone who I had to fight the remote for and who rolled their eyes at my facts…"

Mary couldn't help but smile a little at that. "I just…I wished you told me…I wished you felt like you could tell me."

"Mare, I'm sorry." He hesitantly placed his hand on top of hers. "I just didn't want to lose what we had."

"Well, let me make it clear for you, Marshall…I'm not going anywhere." She turned her hand upwards and laced her fingers with his.

He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief before tugging her forward and into his arms. He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

"Will you tell me what happened in Austin?" She asked, pulling back slightly to look at him.

He tensed. "I don't know…"

"I just want to help, Marshall…Talking might help."

"It's just…I knew she was upset...When she arrived on the scene with the other local cops, I could see she was surprised to see me but didn't really say anything." He told her. "When we spoke, she was snippy with me but I kind of expect that."

"What went wrong?" Mary questioned.

"We had some information that the guy after our girl was heading our way….I decided it was best to lead him in a different direction and get the girl as far away as possible." Marshall explained and Mary nodded, they had used that tactic before. "Since I had been with her most of time, I was concerned that this guy might recognize me…So I sent her with the other team."

"And Abigail stayed with you?"

"Along with two Marshal who I'd been working with and another local cop….Abigail and the cop followed us in their car and it took about 20 minutes for us to realize we had a tail…So, we stopped to try and trap him."

Marshall pushed himself off the bed and started to pace. Mary watched him silently, now wondering whether it was a good idea to be getting into this.

"I went into an abandoned building with Abigail…We figured that he might think she was the girl, since they both had dark hair and were similar height…the others stayed in the cars to keep a lot out."

"So, it was just the two of you?"

"I didn't think it would be a problem, I mean it was a little awkward but we were working…I know her…I know she loves her job and is good at it." He stated. "I thought she could handle it while we were on the clock."

"What happened, Marshall?"

"She asked about you and Jackson…At first, I thought she was just making conversation but when I said you were both great, she lost it." He swallowed the lump in his throat as he recalled that day. He had no clue how to react when Abigail had started crying. At another time, he would have tried to comfort her but they were there to do a job. "I…I said I was sorry …That I never meant to hurt her ….She said she felt sorry for me because she was my chance to escape…"

"Escape?" Mary questioned.

"Escape you…" He looked down guilty as if he had said the words himself. "That we were trapped in our own little world but it would soon come crushing down on us both…She said you only wanted me because someone else me…"

"That's a load of crap." Mary needed to reassure him of that, in case he had any doubts.

"Then I saw a car pull up out of the window behind her…The guys were out the front and I tried to radio them…Tell them to cover the back but she snatched it away from and threw it to the ground."

"Why?"

"She wanted to know why I chose you…Why she wasn't good enough." He told her. "But I was distracted…I mean there was a hit-man just about to come into the building and we had no back up….She got angry and pulled her gun on me."

She reached out for his hand, stopping him from pacing. She knew it was hard for him to relive what happened and although, she had never been good at this sort of thing, she wanted to help him.

"I told her we could talk later and tried to move past her but she tripped me…" He dropped down onto the bed. "I remember being shock and didn't react fast enough to stop her pinning me down…Next thing I know, I'm handcuffed to a pole."

Mary's eyes widened; she had been in that situation herself before and could remember too well the fear of being restrained and unable to move.

"It was crazy, Mare…I didn't know what to do…I never been in a situation like that." He whispered. "I tried talking to her…When I said if she didn't let me free, I'd end up being killed, she said…."

"She said what?" Mary asked when he trailed off.

He turned his head to look at her. "She said …good."

Tears burned in Mary's eyes and she felt her stomach churn at the thought of someone wanting Marshall died.

"She said I had killed her….that her life was over because what I done…She said she wanted you to suffer too…" He took a shaky breath before continuing; now he had started, he couldn't stop. "I heard a window being broken but she didn't…I tried to warn her but she wouldn't listen...she left the room…Next thing, she's screaming … demanding to know where the witness was…And I couldn't do anything…I was trapped...I somehow managed to get to my feet and after some twisting and pulling, got ahold of my gun."

Mary remembered how when you're in a situation like that, you do anything just to get free.

"I consider trying to shoot the cuffs off…" He let out a bitter laugh at his own stupidity. "But then I heard her…I heard her tell the guy where I was and that I had the information he needed…When he dragged her back into the room…I just shot…I didn't aim…I just fired…I didn't even care who got hit."

"You did the right thing, Marshall…You would be dead now if you hadn't of done." Mary assured him. "Jackson wouldn't have a Dad and I….I don't know what I would have done."

"If things would have been different…I know I could have talked that guy down…he wasn't a criminal…He was just doing it because he was scared of his father…I could have helped him…He didn't need to die."

"That's not your problem…You didn't have a choice…You did your job…You got your witness safe and you kept your team safe."

"I just wish things had turned out differently." He sighed. "The other must have heard the shot because they came in...and found me cuffed, the suspect dead and Abigail….she was in the corner, sobbing."

Despite the anger and hatred she had for the woman who almost got Marshall killed; she couldn't help but felt sorry for her. She might not have spent a whole lot of time getting to know Abigail when she was with Marshall but she never thought she was capable of this and knew she must have been in a bad way to act like that.

"Why did you cover for her?" Mary asked. "Why did you ask people to keep it quiet?"

"She's lost her job, Mare...I just thought it would be easier for everyone to move on if it was forgotten….I guess that didn't work out so well…"

"We'll get there." She told him. "We'll move on and get through it together."

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you…" He told her. "I'm sorry it had to come to this."

"I meant what I said, Marshall…I'm not going anywhere…You're stuck with me." She said. "But you've got to promise me something?"

"Anything."

"You can't keep going around trying to save everyone or make everything better on your own...We're a team…In more ways than one…You need to let me help…Even when it's me you're trying to save."

He nodded, knowing she was right. "I get it…We're in this together."

"Don't forget that." She told him. "Because I'm sure it's going to be me that will need help remembering that."

He smiled. "I won't forget and I won't let you forget."

"I'm counting on you…" She pulled him forward and kissed him briefly. "I'm terrified of losing you, Marshall but I'm not willing you keep you at arm's length to protect my heart…I trust you to protect it for me."

This time it was him that kissed her. "We're in this together, Mare…I promise you, I'm not going anywhere either."

**TBC**

**No cliff hanger this time…Ending with a bit of M&M sappiness. Next chapter will the best last one. Please review and let me know what you think! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey, this is the final chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and who's stuck with it! I hope you like it! **

**Home Sweet…Mess**

"I can't believe you let them do this." Marshall looked at Stan.

"Let us?" Nathan repeated. "It was his idea."

"You're getting married tomorrow…You need one last night of freedom." Stan patted his Inspector on the back and handed him a bottle of beer.

"You all just want a chance to get drunk." Marshall replied, sliding into a booth after his boss.

It had been six months since Mary and Marshall had gone to Phoenix and when everything came out about Austin. Once Marshall had told Mary what had happened, he found it easier to come to terms with it.

Stan had demanded an explanation to how Abigail was allowed to work on the case. He was told it was an unfortunate situation and they had not been informed of their history until after the incident. They also issued a formal apology for not giving Marshall the correct support that he needed.

Allison Pearson was still determined to promote him but he still was unsure whether he even wanted to stay in the Marshal Service. Stan had convinced him to take some time off before making a final decision. After three months off, Marshall realized he did miss it and agreed to return but to the Albuquerque office and his old job.

Things had slowly got back to normal. About two months ago Marshall got contacted by Abigail's family, asking him if he would be willing to speak with her. They had said, she was trying to put her life back together and wanted to apologize for what she had done to him. He thought about it long and hard; trying to decide if it was a good idea or not. After discussing it with family, friends and his therapist, he chose not to. He had just himself began to move on and he feared talking to her it would push him back. For once he put his own needs first instead everyone else. So, instead he settled for writing her a letter, telling her he had already forgiven her and was glad she was doing better. He wished her luck in the future, mailed it and then put it out of his mind.

After things started to get back on track Mary and Marshall decided there was no reason to put a wedding off any longer. They spent the last three months getting ready. It wasn't going to be a big affair. They found a private garden where they could have the ceremony outside. Marshall's family had flown in and he was meant to be staying at the hotel with them since Brandi and Jinx instead the couple followed the tradition of not seeing each other the night before.

Marshall should have known there was something going on, when his father and brothers were too enthusiastic about the idea. Once he had checked into his room, Stan arrived and told him they were going for drink to celebrate.

"So, finally settling down and getting married." Chris broke his train of thoughts and brought his attention back to the conversation. "About time, little brother."

Marshall laughed and shook his head.

"What?" Seth questioned the action.

"Nothing, just thinking…" He grinned. "If I had been like Chris and Nathan and met Mary back in college….I don't think there is any way she would have given me a second a look, let alone marry me."

"Hell, I'm not convinced this isn't all some kind of delayed April fools prank…"

Marshall turned quickly at the sound of a familiar voice. "Bobby! What you doing here?"

Dorshowitz pulled him into a manly hug. "Your Chief told me you were getting married….To Mary Shannon…You think I would miss that?"

"It's great to see you!"

"You too but let's clear up a few things…This is _the _Mary Shannon, right? Not some other woman with the same name?"

"Nope, same woman."

"And you're getting married because you love each other?" Bobby questioned. "Not because of one of your insane bets?"

"No bets were involved."

"She agreed willing? You're not blackmailing her, withholding food or anything like that?"

"Actually, she was the one that suggested we get married."

"I'm sorry…" Bobby shrugged. "This just gets weirder and weirder."

"Wait till you see this…" Marshall reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and flipped it open.

Bobby titled his head to the side and looked at the photograph. "That's a child."

"Yes, it is." Marshall grinned widely. "He's name is Jackson…Our son."

"Oh man, now he need a drink." Bobby said dramatically. "With Mary's temper and you're talent for spouting gibberish, he'll be insulting people with words they don't understand before he's five."

"I know…" Marshall was practically bouncing on the spot. "Pretty exciting, right?"

Bobby laughed. "Congratulations, man."

"Let me introduce you to everyone…" Marshall gestured to the others. "My Dad, Seth, my brothers Nathan and Chris...Stan you already know and Charlie, who started working with us after you left."

"You have my condolences." Bobby said to the younger Marshal.

Charlie laughed nervously, taking a mouthful of his beer. He had worked a lot with Stan and he really liked Marshall but he couldn't help but feel out of place with this group.

Bobby pointed to the bar. "I'll get the next round in..."

"I'll help you." Nathan offered, standing up.

"So, what's Mary doing tonight?" Seth asked when Marshall re-took his seat.

"Brandi and her Mom mentioned something about doing manicures, pedicures and facials, ready for tomorrow…" Marshall shrugged. "So, she's probably packed Jackson up and heading for the mountains right about now…"

"Here we are fellas….Beers and tequila chasers…" Bobby announced, as Nathan and he handed out the drinks. There were cheers of approval around the table all except Marshall who groaned.

"I am not getting drunk the night before my wedding." Marshall told them firmly.

"Mary will never know." Stan told him.

Marshall sent him a disbelieving look. "Stan, come on…This is Mary."

Nathan slid a shot glass across the table at him. "Just wait until the stripper gets here."

"Tell me you're joking!" Marshall looked horrified.

"Yes but you should see the look on your face…" Nathan laughed. "Relax, kid…We're just going to have some drink, talk, laugh and have some fun!"

"I remember I went on this one bachelor party….The groom ended up in the back of a truck heading for Vegas…He was an hour late for the wedding." Stan added, chuckling at the memory. "My sister still hasn't forgiven us for that…"

"I don't remember much of mine." Chris said. "I couldn't face eating anything at the reception…"

"It was your fault that I ended up with my ear pierced!" Nathan pointed at his older brother accusingly.

"Hey, I stopped you from getting a tattoo of Tinkerbelle!"

Marshall choked on his mouthful of beer. "Tinkerbelle?"

"Helen loves Tinkerbelle…" Nathan's face reddened as they all laughed. "I was drunk, okay?"

"You know, I think I'm just going to go back to the hotel…Get an early night." Marshall stood up, eyeing them all warily.

"No, you're not…You're coming to the bar with me." Chris got to his feet too and wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him away from the table.

"Chris, I don't want things to go wrong tomorrow…" Marshall told him. "It's been a rough year and I just want it to be perfect."

"It'll be fine…Don't worry." Chris assured him. "We're not going to let anything mess up your big day…"

"Right…" Marshall replied with a sigh, leaning on the bar as they waited to be served.

"Are you nervous?" Chris asked him, amused.

Marshall scowled. "No…Why would I be nervous?"

"Because you're getting married tomorrow?" He suggested.

"I love Mary…and I know she loves me…It's just…things have been good lately." Marshall stated. "Something just always seems to come up when things are going right."

"Hey, you're marrying the woman of your dreams…You got your own personal Marshal Service with your colleague, Nathan, Dad and I…." Chris told him. "We've got your back, okay?"

"Okay…" Marshall smiled. "Thanks."

"Did you get chance to speak to Danny earlier?" Chris changed the conversation, not wanting Marshall to over think the next day.

"I did."

"He told you about his grades? He managed to pull them back up to an A…"

"He must have been working really hard the last few months…" Marshall smiled wider. "I'm glad, he's doing so well."

"I know I've said before but I do appreciate what you did…"

"Chris…"

"With everything that had been going on at the time, we never did get to talk properly." Chris continued. "And I know you probably don't want to get into it now and we won't but I just want to say, thank you…Who knows where he would be now if you hadn't stepped in."

"He's a good kid, Chris… He just made a few mistakes."

"I know…Did you hear he got an award for some project he did in his music class?" Chris added and Marshall smiled at how proud he sounded. "He's actually pretty talented…"

"Not heading for a career in the Marshal Service, then?"

"Doesn't look like it." Chris replied. "I'm actually relieved he's chosen a safe career."

"I'm glad he's found something he enjoys and is good at."

"Me too…"

"What can I get you guys?" The barman finally approached them.

"You know what? Forget the beers…" Chris reached into his wallet and pulled out a credit card. "Give us your best bottle of scotch and seven glasses…"

"Chris, no…" Marshall tried to protest but the barman had already gone to get the order. "Just a quiet drink you said…"

"We'll toast your wedding and then we'll head back to the hotel…It'll be fine." Chris put his arm back around his shoulders. "Trust me…"

"Oh god, this is a bad idea…" Marshall groaned.

_**xXxXx**_

"Come on, Mare…It's just a facemask." Brandi held up the bowl filled with what to Mary looked like guacamole.

"Brandi, I allowed you to paint my nails…"

"Allowed?" Jinx cut in with a laugh. "We had to practically hold you down…"

"…A facemask is going too far." Mary talked over Jinx. "Especially one that is that green."

"It'll make your skin soft and clean out your pours."

"Or I could just wash my face when I have a shower." Mary replied.

"Please…" Brandi whined. "You wouldn't let us throw you a bachelorette party…this is the next best thing!"

"A bachelorette party? Who would I invite?"

"Uh, your friends."

"I only have one friend and that's Marshall…" Mary stated. "So, you're telling me I could have gotten out of tonight by having a bachelorette party with my only friend? I wouldn't have even needed to hire a stripper!"

"Firstly…Ew! And secondly, you have friends." Brandi insisted. "There's woman you work with….Your boss' girlfriend, Marshall's mom and his sister-in-laws….Mom and I would have been there…That chick you used to work with."

"What chick I used to work with?"

"You know…the secretary or whatever…"

"Eleanor?" Mary questioned. "Eleanor is not a chick or a friend."

"Then why did you invite her to the wedding?"

"I don't know…She's in town for a few weeks…" Mary shrugged. "But please, mention that she was the secretary when you see her tomorrow."

"Mary, just one facial…It'll take twenty minutes, max!"

"Arg! Alright fine!" She rolled her eyes. "But if you tell anyone about this…"

"What? That you're actually a girl?" Brandi teased.

"They'd never believe you anyway." Mary shrugged and allowed her sister to drag her over to the couch.

"So, what's Marshall got planned for tonight?" Jinx asked, looking through Brandi's nail polish collection to see if she could find the perfect shade to match her outfit for tomorrow.

"He said he had some paperwork to do and then was getting an early night." Mary replied, resting her head against the back of couch and closed her eyes.

"You really think that's what he's doing tonight?" Brandi laughed, carefully applying the mixture to her face. "It's the night before he gets married…"

"You think he's gone a wild bachelor party?" Mary opened one eye to look at her sister. "This Marshall we're talking about…The guy that thinks a night out his origami classes…"

"Ha, I can't believe you're marrying a geek." Brandi laughed. "If people back in Jersey found out…"

"He might be a geek but that's only one side of him…"

"Is this the part where you tell us he is an animal in bed?" Brandi teased.

"Okay, I'm done..." Mary tried to stand up. "I don't do girl talk with anyone…"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Brandi pushed her back down. "No sex talk, I get it."

"Let's talk about the wedding instead…" Jinx said cheerfully, unscrewing a bottle of bright pink nail polish. "Do you have everything ready?"

"I guess…" Mary sighed. "The ceremony starts at 2pm…Marshall's mother, sister-in-laws and nieces are coming by about 10am for brunch…Some kind of tradition Sarah started, since she only had sons, she wanted to do something special with the girls in the family."

"Oh, how nice." Jinx stated.

"What flowers did you decide on in the end?" Brandi asked sitting back once she had covered Mary's face.

"I don't know…Some white things Marshall liked."

"Mary…" Jinx sighed. "It's your wedding…A flowers are an important part…"

"They're flowers, Mom…I would prefer to have no flowers and carry my gun instead."

"You can't take your gun!"

"She might need it…" Brandi commented. "If that psycho Abigail turns up…"

"She's not going to come." Mary claimed.

"She was pissed that you two were together…What makes you think that she'll be happy about you getting married?"

"It's complicated, Brandi." Mary sighed. "Abigail has moved on with her life… She's not going to come back."

"If you say so…" She shrugged. "I'll be right back…You have to leave the mask on for another five minutes before washing it off…"

Mary watched Brandi walk off into the kitchen and then glanced at Jinx who was busy concentrating on painting her fingernails. She frowned a little, wondering whether she should be worried about the wedding. She was pretty certain that Abigail was no longer a threat but that didn't mean other things could go wrong.

_**XxXxX**_

Marshall stumbled to a halt when his cell phone rang. He struggled to get it out of his pocket without dropping it to the floor. By the time he managed to pull it out, it had gone to voicemail. He glanced up and saw the other guys had carried on walking, not noticing he had stopped. He leaned back against a wall, willing for the world to stop spinning and praying his didn't empty the contents of his stomach. He took a few deep breaths and rubbed his eyes, trying to focus as his dialed his voicemail then smiled when he heard Mary's voice.

"_Hey…it's only me...Just wanted to call to say goodnight….I guess, you're already asleep…Can you call me in the morning? I just….what if something goes wrong tomorrow? I know I probably sound crazy right about now but I need you to tell me that everything is going to be okay….Anyway, I should get some sleep….Love you." _

He frowned and lowered the phone. It wasn't like Mary to worry like that. He glanced in the direction of the guys again and saw they were further down the road, laughing and talking loudly, still unaware he wasn't with them. Bobby suggested a bar that he used to go to when he lived in Albuquerque and they were heading there but Marshall knew he had already gone past his limit…They all had but no one seemed willing to call it a night.

"Hey, I'm going home." He shouted after them, pointing in the opposite direction. If he walked, he could be there in twenty minutes. None of them replied so he just shrugged and turned to walk the other way.

It took almost twice as long for him to get back to the house but he didn't notice. He stood on the doorstep, fumbling in his pocket for his keys before remembering he had given them to Nathan to look after. He went to knock but then changed his minding, knowing Brandi and Jinx were staying the night and they might not let him see Mary. So instead he snuck as quietly as he could around the side of the house to the backyard, grinning when he saw a dim light coming from his and Mary's bedroom.

"Mary…" He whispered, tipping on the window. "Mary…Mare…Mary!"

The curtains were pushed aside quickly and Mary's surprised face appeared. When she saw it was Marshall, she pushed the open window.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I got your message and wanted to see if you were okay." He said sweetly.

"Why didn't you just come in?"

"Brandi and Jinx's tradition about the bride not seeing the groom…" He replied and then paused. "Wait…Or is it the groom not seeing the bride?"

She stared at him with an open mouth. "Are you drunk?"

"No." He shook his head and then reached out to grab the window frame to steady himself. "Okay, maybe a little bit."

"Oh sweet Jesus…" Mary muttered.

"Are you mad?" He asked, pouting slightly. "I told them no but then Stan turned up and made me go out…They promised it was just a quiet drink then Chris brought the scotch and I don't really remember much after that…"

"Yet you were still able to get yourself here to talk to me through our bedroom window?" She asked, amused.

"Kind of romantic, don't you think?" He tilted his head to the side a little. "Like Romeo and Juliet…"

"Marshall, no…"

"She speaks….O, speak again, bright angel, for thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head…" He knelt down the ground, leaning his forearms on the window ledge.

"As is a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-puffing clouds And sails upon the bosom of the air…"

"How the hell do you recite Shakespeare when drunk?"

"Then you say…. O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name…"

She covered his mouth with her hand, effectively shutting him up.

"It's almost 3am; my tolerance of Shakespeare is zero." She told him and then grabbed his shirt collar with her free hand. "Get in here…"

He stumbled as she pulled him through the window and ended up flat on his back on their bedroom floor.

"It's a good thing I'm drunk or that would have hurt…" He said, staring up at the ceiling.

"I can't believe out of the two of us, it was you that went out and got totally wasted." Mary shook her head. "I feel cheated in some way."

"If it helps, I didn't want to drink…" He pushed himself up on his elbows. "But they're all bad influences."

"Yeah, that's right, blame the peer pressure." She said sarcastically, reaching down and took his hand, pulling him to his feet. "Did you have a good night?"

"Yeah, it was fun…" He smiled. "Charlie threw up on Stan's shoes."

"Oh, I bet that went down well…" She smirked. "I'm glad you had a good night."

"What about you?" He asked, putting her arms around her waist. "Did you have a good time?"

"At my sister and mother's attempt at a bachelorette party? Get real…"

"What was the phone call about?" He frowned a little, suddenly remembering why he had come.

She sighed. "I guess I got a little freaked about tomorrow…"

"Freaked?" He repeated. "What do you mean? You're not having doubts, are you?"

"No, not at all…" She assured him. "But what if something goes wrong?"

"It'll be fine…"

"What if the wrong flowers arrive and I don't know that they're not the ones you picked?" She asked, stepping back away from him. "What if we get called to work?"

"Stan won't let us get called into work…" Marshall stated but she kept talking.

"What if it rains, Marshall?" She rambled. "We're meant to be getting married outside…What if it rains?"

"I've got an umbrella!" Marshall announced, walked towards the bedroom door to go find it...

"Do you want to wake the whole house up?" She hissed, pulling on his arm. He stumbled again but this time landed on the bed. "Marshall, I need you to focus right now."

He blinked a few times and looked up at her. "Okay, I'm here…I'm focused."

"What happens if we get the wrong flowers?" She repeated and started to pace in front of him. "What if it rains? Or if my family argues with yours? What if Jackson gets shy and doesn't want to walk down the aisle? What if uninvited guests turn up? What if Eleanor and Lea start fighting over Stan?"

Marshall got to his feet without her noticing when her back was turned.

"What if the photographer doesn't show…?" She was cut off when he spun around and kissed her passionately.

She automatically returned the kiss, tasting the scotch he had been drinking. After a few seconds she pulled back and stared at him. "What are you doing?"

"Your pacing was making me dizzier then the alcohol and you were starting to act irrational…" He sucked in a long breath. "I thought a kiss was a better alternative than a slap."

"Marshall…" She groaned.

"Mare, everything is fine." Marshall cut in. "Nothing is going to go wrong."

"How do you know that?" She whispered.

"Because we're getting married." He grinned. "We're getting married tomorrow, Mary…Actually, we're getting married today…"

"But…"

"And don't worry about anyone turning up because we've got our personal Marshal Service attending…" He quoted Chris from earlier. "And Bobby D….Did I tell you Stan called Bobby and invited him…"

"Marshall…"

"He turned up at the bar tonight…It was so great to see him…" He continued. "He's so much a nice guy…"

This time, it was Mary that pulled him in for a kiss. When they broke apart, he raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"You were getting off track and I thought kissing you was a better alternative than punching you in the mouth." She told him. "You're really not worried about tomorrow?"

He shrugged. "As long as at the end of the day, you're my wife then nothing else matters."

"Really?"

"Yes, Mare we've been through so much together but at 2pm I am going to marry the woman of my dreams…All I need you and Jackson there." He told her softly. "If it rains we'll get wet… If our families argue, we'll ignore them….If Eleanor and Lea fight then we make sure someone is filming it….If Jackson doesn't want to walk down the aisle, he doesn't have to…"

"What about the flowers?"

"If they don't turn up, then you can just carry your gun."

She laughed and kissed him once more.

"That was because you always know what to say even though you turn up drunk and quoting Shakespeare." She told them but quickly continued before he could say anything. "That's not an invitation to start the Romeo crap again…"

"Noted." Marshall smiled. "You should get some sleep."

"Are you going back to the hotel?"

"Yeah, everyone will probably freak out if they knew we broke the no contact rule." He led her to the bed.

"Make sure you get a cab…" She climbed under the covers.

"I will…" He nodded. "I don't think I can remember how to get back anyway."

She watched as he sat on the other side of the bed. "I thought you were going?"

"I am but I'll wait until you're asleep."

"You're such a dork." She rolled her eyes but Marshall noticed she didn't object and instead led down.

He reached over and brushed her hair off her face as she closed her eyes. She sighed contently and inched closer to him, causing him to smile.

"Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow…" He whispered when he was sure she was asleep.

"I heard that." She muttered.

_**XxXxX**_

"I'm not going in there." Brandi told Jinx as she lifted Jackson up. "She has a gun."

"But it's almost 10am…Everyone will be here soon and she's still not awake." Jinx stared at Mary's closed bedroom door.

"Mama gone?" Jackson looked at Brandi confused to where his mom was.

"Mama sleeping…" Brandi told him. "Let's go watch some cartoons."

"What are we going to about Mary?" Jinx called after her.

"You wake her up…I don't have a death wish." Brandi said back, dropping down onto the couch with her nephew.

Jinx sighed but just as she reached for the door handle there was a knock on the front door. With one more glanced at the bedroom, she turned and walked down the hallway.

"Jinx?" Sarah smiled widely at her. "It's so nice to see you again."

"You too." Jinx stepped aside. "Please come in."

"Thank you…" Sarah replied. "Let me introduce you to my daughter in laws Lucy and Helen and my granddaughters, Ashley, Sophie and Hannah."

"Well, it's nice to meet you all finally." Jinx smiled at them. "Getting together like this is such a nice idea."

"I love my boys to pieces but sometimes you just need a little girl-time..." Sarah followed Jinx to the kitchen.

"How's Mary doing?" Lucy questioned. "Is she nervous?"

"Um, well…she's not awake yet." Jinx admitted.

"She's still asleep?" Helen's eyes widened. "Was she awake all night?"

"Nope, she went to bed around midnight…" Brandi appeared, heading for the fridge to find Jackson a snack. "Mary is not like most women, she doesn't lose sleep over this kind of thing."

"This is my youngest daughter, Brandi." Jinx told them. "Honey, this is Marshall's family."

"I can't believe it…" Helen shook her head. "I got about two hours sleep the night before my wedding."

"Well, this is no good…" Sarah stated. "We'll have to wake her up."

"Yeah, about that…" Brandi sat Jackson in his highchair and placed a bowl of cheerios in front of him. "I wouldn't…."

"Wouldn't what?"

"Wake her." Brandi said. "She gets cranky."

"It's her wedding day!" Sarah stared at them both.

"At least she'll be well rested for the honeymoon…" Lucy smirked, reaching into her purse when her cell phone rang.

"Aunt Lucy!" Ashley groaned. "Gross."

"I don't get it…" Sophie stated, looking at Helen questionably.

"Don't worry about it…" Helen told her daughter before sending her sister-in-law a look.

Lucy smiled innocently and shrugged as she stepped away to answer her phone.

"Right, you girls set out the food we brought over…" Sarah ordered. "I'm going to get Mary…"

"Wait a minute." Lucy reached an arm out to stop her but then turned back to her phone conversation.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked, once she hung up.

"We might want to let Mary sleep for a little while longer…" Lucy suggested.

"Why?" Helen frowned.

"That was Chris…"

"Is there a problem?" Jinx questioned.

"Just a small one…" Lucy replied then winced. "They've lost Marshall."

"What?"

"Lost him?"

"How?"

"Okay, everyone calm down…." Lucy said as they all started talking at once.

"What do you mean they've lost Marshall?" Sarah asked once everyone had quieted down.

"They went to his room to see if he wanted to go get some breakfast but he wasn't there…" Lucy explained. "Then Nathan remembered that Marshall had given him his room key while they were out…They said it looked like he hadn't slept there."

"But where would he go?" Helen wondered. "He's crazy about Mary…He wouldn't run away…Would he?"

"No, of course not." Sarah insisted.

"There's probably a reasonable explanation…Seth is calling some of the others guys they were out with last night…Maybe he crashed at one of their places."

"I knew them going out was a bad idea!" Sarah said. "Marshall didn't even want to go."

"What are we going to tell Mary?" Brandi asked.

"Look, why don't we get her sleep and then hopefully by the time she wakes up, he'll be back."

"And if he's not?"

"Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll sleep for the rest of the day."

"Oh, you just wait until I get my hands on my idiot husbands and sons…" Sarah threatened, pulling out her cell phone. "If they did anything to my baby…."

"Andi?"

"What's up, Champ?" Brandi leaned down to Jackson.

"Mama up?"

"No, not yet, buddy…" She ran a hand over his hair. "We've got to let her sleep until we find you Daddy…"

"Dada?" Jackson grinned, looking around excitedly.

Brandi sighed. "You'll see him later…"

"Dada gone?" He frowned up at her.

"He'll be back soon…" She assured him and then picked him up. "Let's get you washed up."

When Brandi returned with a bathed Jackson 30 minutes later, she found Marshall's father, brothers and Stan in the kitchen.

"What's going on?" She asked, setting Jackson on the floor with his toys.

"He still hasn't turned up…" Lucy sighed.

"We're just checking the hospitals…" Stan added. "See if he's there…"

"Wait, you think he's hurt?" Brandi looked around the room.

"We have nowhere else to look." Chris replied. "No one has seen him since last night."

"Dada…Mama…dada…"

They all turned and looked down the hall to see Jackson was stood outside his parent's bedroom.

"Hey, champ…Come here…" Brandi moved quickly to stop him hit on the door.

"Dada play…" He said when Brandi picked him up. "Dada…Dada."

"Daddy's not here…" She tried to tell him.

"Dada…" He leaned out of Brandi's arms and pushed on the door. "Dada…"

"Jack, Daddy not there…" Brandi told him, in a hushed voice. "Look, see…just Mama sleeping."

She opened the door a crack so he could see in. "Shh, quiet."

"Shhh…" Jack copied, moving his finger to his lip.

"Come on; let's go back into the kitchen…"

He whined a little as she carried him back down the hall. She ran a soothing hand up and down his back as she entered the kitchen.

"How can you eat that?" Chris watched Nathan eating a bowl of cereal.

"What? We skipped breakfast…" He said around a mouthful.

"I'm going to throw up just thinking about food…" His older brother moaned.

"You're both giving me a headache…" Seth rubbed his eyes.

"That's the hangover!" Sarah claimed, hitting him in the ribs. "I can't believe you let this happen!"

"He's a grown man…How was I supposed to know he would disappear on us!"

"You don't think he's changed his mind, do you?" Brandi questioned, placing Jackson on the floor again so she could get him a drink.

"Are you kidding me?" Chris ran a hand down his face. "There is no way."

"I bet he just fell asleep somewhere." Nathan suggested.

"We've just got to work out where." Stan added.

Brandi turned around and found Jackson was gone again and looked down the hall in time to see him, pushing the already open bedroom door.

"Jack…" She whispered, walking towards him quickly but he didn't even look back.

Mary rolled to the edge of the bed when she felt her arm being tugged on.

"Mama…mama up…up…"

She groaned quietly and reached down, lifting Jackson onto the bed with her eyes still closed. She stayed where she was, allowing her son to climb over her.

"Jack…" Brandi whispered, entering the room cautiously but then stopped when she saw him. Shaking her head, she quietly left the room. "Guys?"

"Is Mary awake?" Stan asked, warily.

"Nope but I found Marshall…" She grinned.

"He's here?" Sarah exclaimed.

"Fast asleep…" She nodded.

"Did none of you think to check?" Seth looked at his wife and daughter-in-laws.

"Hey, don't blame us…" Lucy replied. "We weren't the ones to lose him!"

"Yeah, you're lot were meant to be taking care of him last night…" Helen added.

"Look, let's just move on…at least he's safe." Stan said diplomatically. "We do have a wedding to get ready for."

"I think it's time we woke the happy couple…" Sarah stated, marching down the hallway.

"This I've got to see…" Brandi laughed and followed.

Mary let out a frustrated groaned when she heard more footsteps and her bedroom door opening again, she sat up, ready to give Jinx or Brandi hell for waking her but was surprised to see Sarah staring down at her. She suddenly remembered what day it was and cursed herself for not setting her alarm.

She was about to apologize when the others entered the room, hovering behind her future mother-in-law. She frowned when she saw Seth, Chris, Nathan and Stan with them. Her heart stopped with fear when she remembered that they weren't meant to be with Marshall…Then she heard Jackson, behind her.

"Dada, shhh…"

She turned over and rolled her eyes when she saw him fast asleep on his side of the bed.

"Hey, idiot." She shook his shoulder. "Wake up."

Marshall rolled onto his side, reaching up to grab her hand to stop her. "Oh god…My head…"

"You fell asleep, you dork." She told him.

He forced his eyes open, first focusing on her and then past her to the group beside the bed.

"Hey, Mare?" He whispered, turning his eyes back her. "Why do we have an audience in our bedroom?"

"Because in three hours we're getting married…" She told him; she was always amused when Marshall was hung over because it was one of the few times, his brain was a few seconds behind what was happening.

"Married?" He repeated, then groaned dropped his head back to the pillow and grabbed the bedcover, pulling it up over her his head.

Jackson laughed, thinking it was a game and copied his father, hiding under the covers.

"Hey! You've got to get up…You can't be lounging around in bed!" Sarah told him.

"And what are you doing here anyway?" Seth asked. "We've been looking over for you!"

"I'll call the office and Dorshowitz…Call of the search party." Stan said, stepping out the room.

"I'm going to throw up…" Chris announced, fleeing the room. "Again."

"I told you I could handle my drink better then you…" Nathan teased, following him.

"I'm married to an over grown child." Lucy sighed and then looked at Mary. "You sure you want to marry into this family?"

Mary gave her a weak smile. "Can't be any worse than mine."

"Hey!" Jinx and Brandi exclaimed together.

"Guys, can you give us a minute?" Mary asked. "We'll be right out."

"Well, okay…." Sarah said, hesitantly. "But don't be long…We have a wedding to get ready for."

Mary gave them another small smile and watched them leave; laughing quietly listening to Sarah reprimanded Seth for getting Marshall drunk. She waited until Brandi closed the door behind her before she pulled back the bedcovers.

She wished she had a camera to capture the scene in front of her. Marshall and Jackson were both on their sides, facing each other. Jackson was curled up under Marshall's chin, who had one arm wrapped little boy, holding him close to him. Jackson's fingers tracing the collar of his Dad's shirt and his other hand was patting Marshall's cheek, trying to get his attention but he had his eyes closed.

"Dada sleep?" Jackson turned his eyes up to Mary, questionably.

"Dada needs to wake up…"

"Dada dying…" Marshall muttered.

"Don't say that around him." Mary scolded, poking him in the ribs.

"Hey, quit it." Marshall squirmed away from her.

"Get him, Jack…" Mary launched forward, tickling Marshall.

"Hey…" He tried to grab her hands to stop her.

Jackson laughed, squashed between his parents. He gripped onto Marshall's shirt so when he rolled away from Mary, he took Jackson with him.

"Are you protecting him?" Mary looked at Jackson with mock offence. He looked back at her and let out another laugh, tightening his arms around Marshall.

"We boys have to stick together." Marshall replied, wrapping his arms around Jackson and sitting up against the headboard. "I feel like I've been hit around the head with baseball bat…"

"That's what happens when you go out and get wasted." She stated, running a hand down Jackson's back as he rested his head against Marshall's chest. "You better get going for your Mom will be in here dragging you out by the ear."

He groaned and closed his eyes. "Why didn't we just go back to Vegas?"

"Because you wanted our family and friends to be here." She grinned at him. "Now go take a shower…I'll grab you some breakfast and coffee."

He raised an eyebrow at her comment. "You're offering to bring me food?"

"Don't get used to it." She pushed herself off the bed, reaching her arms out for Jackson. "Come on, buddy…Lets go see what everyone is up to."

When she entered the kitchen, she found and Stan talking on his cell phone to whom she was assumed with Delia. Sarah was moving around the room, setting out food with the help of Jinx. Seth was slowly sipping a cup of coffee, massaging his temples. Chris was sat at the table, his head down on his folded arms while Nathan was beside him, eating scrambled eggs. She glanced into the living room, seeing Lucy styling Ashley's hair while Helen tried to get Hannah to sit still long enough so she could do hers.

She heard Brandi challenging Danny, Jake and Michael to a game of Mario Karts and wondered if she should warn them that her sister had spent the last three months since she returned to Albuquerque, obsessed with the game but after hearing their smack-talk, she decided to just let find out for themselves.

"Look at all this food…" Mary commented, glancing up at Sarah. "You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble."

"Oh please…" She waved her hand in the air dismissively. "It's not every day my youngest gets married…It's a celebration."

"Mary, you should really eat something…" Jinx guided her to a chair. "It's your big day and I know you must be nervous…"

She rolled her eyes and settled Jackson on her lap, handing him a juice cup then reached for the stack of pancakes. "I'm not nervous…"

"But it's your wedding…"

"Like much is going to change." Next she put some bacon on her plate.

"You're not worried something is going to get messed up?" Helen asked, from the doorway.

She shrugged. "As long as we get to sign the papers, then I don't care…"

"Jeez, Mare… if you're not bothered then why didn't you just go to city hall?" Brandi called out, twisting the stirring wheel in her hand. "Ha! Take that you stupid plumber!"

"Hey!" Michael exclaimed when Mario was hit by a shell.

"Just because I'm not nervous, doesn't mean I don't care." Mary replied. "All I need to know is that Marshall is going to be there…the rest doesn't matter."

"Well, I for one would like a nice photograph of the day." Sarah announced. "And that means, we all have to dress nicely…If we don't get a move on, that won't happen."

"Mom, are you trying to say we look a mess?" Nathan asked with mock offence.

"I'm not trying…I am saying it." She stated and took his plate away from him. "You boys shouldn't even be here."

"Tell that to Marshall." Nathan complained, trying to grab his plate back.

"Yeah, Mare…Aren't you worried about the curse of seeing the groom before the wedding?" Brandi had defeated the boys and joined the others in the kitchen.

"I think we've had all the bad luck we're going to get." Marshall stated entering the room, his hair still wet from his shower.

"Way to jinx it, nerd boy." Mary looked up at him.

"Where the hell did you go last night?" Seth asked him. "You had us worried sick!"

"I told you, I was going home…" Marshall replied, remembering that part of the evening. "It wasn't my fault you were too drunk to listen…"

"Here, drink this." Mary stood up, holding Jackson with one arm and holding out a mug of coffee to Marshall. "Extra strong."

"You're a lifesaver…" He mumbled around a mouthful.

"Right, now everyone get out..." Sarah said, after watching drinking it in a few minutes. "You boys get back to the hotel and get ready…leave us girls in peace."

"You know this is my house right?" Marshall looked at her. "You can't just kick me out…"

"I would just do as she says, son…" Seth muttered to him.

Marshall sighed and turned to Mary; he knew she hated this kind of thing. "You okay?"

She nodded and gave him a small smile. "I'll be fine."

"Okay…" He walked over to her as his Dad, brothers and nephews, noisily made their way out the door which his mother was holding open for them. He kissed her forehead and then Jackson's. "I'll see you in a little bit."

"See you…"

She watched him pause to say something to Sarah on his way past her and she made out him saying something about not going over to the top…She wondered whether he was warning his mother but her hatred of hair and make-up.

"Hey, Romeo…" She called, just before he stepped out of the house. He turned and looked at her, an eyebrow raised. "Happy Wedding Day."

A grin slowly spread across his face and his eyes lit up. He had been giving her that look from the first few days they had met…It wasn't until a couple of years ago; she realized it was a look of pure love.

"Happy Wedding Day." He repeated. "I'll see you there…I'll be waiting for you."

She couldn't help but grin back. "Can't wait."

He lingered in the doorway for another couple of seconds and just when Mary thought he was going to say something else, she saw a hand grab his arm and pull him away.

"Come on, Romeo…We've got to go." She heard Chris say as he disappeared from sight.

"Well, I'm going to head home and get ready." Stan told her. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Okay…" Mary walked him out. "Thanks, Stan…"

Mary closed the door behind him, taking a minute for herself before turning back to the others.

"Okay, this is a once in a life time chance you're going to get to do my hair and make-up." She said. "So, you better make it good."

_**XxXxX**_

Mary had travelled to the venue with Brandi, Jinx, Stan and Jackson and they had arrived with five minutes to spare. Stan had suggested driving around the block but Mary declined. She had a side view of the garden from her position in car and she could see a small crowd sat waiting for the wedding to start. She noticed Chris and Nathan at entrance; Marshall could not choose between the two of them so had asked them both to be his best-men. When Chris looked over and spotted the car, he gave a small wave before they headed to the front, to get the service underway.

"Mom, you better go and take your seat." Mary told her.

"Okay," she nodded and leaned over, kissing Mary's cheek. "Honey, I'm so happy for you…I couldn't be prouder."

"Thanks, Mom…" Mary gave her a small smile, praying she would leave it at that and wouldn't turn it into a big drama.

"Good luck." Jinx seemed to have read her mind and gracefully excited the car.

"You ready, Jacky?" Brandi asked her nephew, unbuckling him from his car seat once Nathan gave them the signal that they were ready to start.

Mary reached over, pulled the tie out of Jackson's hand as he tried to stuff it into his mouth. She brushed back his hair and placed a kissed on his forehead.

"Okay, buddy…I'll see you in a bit." She told him. "Go find, Daddy."

"Bye." Jackson grinned at her as Brandi lifted him out of the car.

"In case I don't get chance to speak to you later…." Stan started once they were alone; turning in his seat so he could look behind to her. "Congratulations…I could not be happier for you…"

"Thanks, Stan…"

"You both mean the world to me…I hope you know that." He continued. "I don't have a lot of family or true friends…You and Marshall… well, I'd do anything for either of you and I'm honored that you've asked me to escort you down the aisle."

Mary considered making a joke to lighten the mood but instead she surprised them both by leaning forward and kissing his cheek. She couldn't help but get caught up in the emotions of the day. She was glad that Stan had chosen to say 'escort' instead 'giving her away' because although he had played a big role in her life and in a lot of ways had acted like a father figure, she wasn't his to give away. Even her father couldn't calm the right to that. For a long time now, she had belonged to one man…and that man was stood waiting to be officially tied to her for the rest of their lives.

"I owe you, Stan…" She whispered. "I know you had doubts about me joining Wit-Sec and I know if it wasn't for Marshall you probably would have never approved the transfer…Hell, if it wasn't for him I would have never applied…but because you gave me a chance, you gave me a new life…I know it's taken a long while to get to this point but I have no idea what my life would be like if I didn't have the chance to work with you and Marshall."

Stan gave her a small smile. "I could not imagine an office without the two of you…Even though most of the time you both drive me crazy."

"I really am grateful for everything you've done for me…" Mary continued. "I know I don't say it often enough…"

"It's okay, I know." Stan assured her and nodded his head to the garden. "Looks like things are starting…"

Mary looked over and saw Jackson stood at the top of the aisle, looking around. She sighed, the idea was that he would walk down first then Brandi would follow before Mary and Stan but she had doubts that would work. Jackson still wasn't able to walk too far and she had been worried the crowd of strangers would scare him. She often wondered where he got his shyness from. She watched as he moved a hand to his mouth, his eyes still wondering around and she could tell he was about to cry. She wanted nothing more than to jump out of the car and go to but before she could move, she saw Marshall taking a few steps up the aisle. He then crouched down, so he was at Jackson's height and held his arms out to him.

Even from where she was, she saw Jackson grin before quickly making his way towards Marshall as fast as his legs would move. Her heart skipped when Jackson stumbled and started to fall forwards but Marshall was quick to react, leaning forward and snatching his son into his arms before he hit the floor. She watched with a relieved smile as he swung him in the air before bringing him down to his chest.

"You ready?" Stan asked, seeing Brandi starting to make her way down the aisle.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Let's do this."

She stayed where she was until Stan opened the car door for her and helped her out. She tried to remember if she had ever let some help her out of a car before. She linked her arm through his as they walked to the entrance and the top of the aisle. As soon as they reach it everyone turned and looked at her, making her feel the unfamiliar feeling of self-consciousness.

"You're okay…" Stan murmured beside her as they made their way forward. "Just breathe."

She glanced around, there were a few unfamiliar faces; people from Marshall's family and friends from the past. Then there were a few relatives from her family that Jinx insisted they invited, even though Mary hadn't seen them since she was a kid.

She smiled when she saw Bobby sat beside Eleanor and on her other side was Charlie, still looking a little green from the night before. In front of them were Delia and Lea, both women grinned at her as she passed them.

Then she reached Marshall's family, Lucy and Helen sat together. She thought back six months ago when she had first meet them. Both women were the only ones to welcome her warmly. She remembered Lucy's teasing Marshall, the only way a big sister could…Then there was her trip to the mall with Helen….How she actually felt better after talking with her until they got the phone call, telling them to get back home.

She couldn't help but smile when she saw Helen lean across Hannah to tell Sophie and Michael stop arguing.

Next to them were Jake and Danny. That day playing catch in the park with Jake was like a crystal ball to the future to what kind of father Marshall would be, she saw family movie nights and camping trips. Then there was Danny… He was starting to become the man he had been acting when she first met him.

She almost rolled her eyes when she saw Jinx already crying. Instead, she gave her mom a smile, which caused more tears to appear. They had decided to forget the traditional seating arrangements and Seth and Sarah were sat beside Jinx. Seth was wearing his sunglasses, possibly due from the hangover and Sarah was beside him, her hand in his. She hoped that Marshall and she will have a long and happy marriage like theirs.

Then they reached the front, Chris and Nathan stood in matching suits on one side and Brandi in deep blue dress on the other.

Finally, they came to a stop and she looked up to see Marshall stepping towards her, Jackson still in his arms.

"Hey…" She whispered.

"Hey…" His eyes taking her in. "You look incredible."

Stan gently pulled his arm away from her, reaching out to pat Marshall's arm before moving away.

"So, you ready to be tied to me for the rest of your life?" Marshall joked.

She knew he was trying to lighten the mood to make her more comfortable and comebacks flashed quickly through her mind but no words came out her mouth. She suddenly had a lump in her throat and tears burning her eyes, all she could do was nodded in reply. He grinned widely, took her hand, leading her, the rest of the way.

She was surprised at the sudden rush of emotions and she wondered whether it was because she was minutes away from being a new person….That she was leaving Mary Shannon behind and becoming Mary Shannon-Mann.

In her head and heart, she knew she wasn't going to transform into a new person who was more open and willingly affectionate just because she was getting married but she couldn't help but see this as a new start.

She was no longer going to be Mary Shannon, loner with deadbeat father, an alcoholic mother and screwed up little sister… She was becoming Mary Shannon-Mann, a wife with a husband that adored her, a little boy who was their world…A mother who had sorted her life, a sister who had grown up and she had inherited a whole new family in Seth, Sarah, Chris, Nathan and their families.

She stood beside Marshall, listening to the judge and couldn't help but think of her father. Wondering where he was now and if he knew he was missing his daughter's wedding…if he even cared.

Marshall glanced across at her and smiled, making her realize it was her that didn't care if James was there or not. He was a part of Mary Shannon's life…She now had a man that she could trust without any doubt.

She returned the smile and squeezed his hand before turning back to pay attention to the judge…She was ready to become Mary Shannon-Mann and knew nothing was going to stop her.

_**XxXxX**_

"How is it that it's your wedding and you have yet to dance?"

Mary turned around and saw Seth smirking at her. "Just lucky I guess."

He laughed but then held out a hand. "May I have the honor?"

"You want to dance?" She asked in surprise. "With me?"

"I don't see anyone else around."

"I'm not really a dancer…"

"Come on…." Seth took her hand, pulling her along with him towards the dance floor. "One song won't hurt you…Take pity on an old man…"

"Alright, fine but don't blame me if I break your toes?"

"I'm a tough guy…I can handle it."

"How's the hangover?" She questioned as they swayed to the slow music.

"It's fine, thank you." He answered, causing her to laugh. "So, how does it feel to be a married woman?"

She shrugged. "Not much different to any other day…Except, we've got presents and cake."

"Wow and I thought I had trouble showing my romantic side." He chuckled.

"I can be romantic." She insisted. "I just prefer not to do it in front of a crowd."

Seth looked across the room and noticed Marshall was watching them, a smile on his face as he spoke with Stan and Bobby.

"He looks good…" Seth said, looking back to Mary. "Marshall seems like his old self."

Mary turned a little so she could see her husband. "He's doing well…Things are really good at the moment."

"I'm glad." Seth replied. "I am glad he's happy..."

"Me too."

"You seem happy too."

"That's because I am." She admitted. "We've been through a lot together…good and bad…I can't explain it but now the good times seem better and the bad are easier to handle…I wished we could have worked this out, years ago."

"The main thing is your together now." Seth said. "I'm happy you're a part of the family."

"Oh wow…"

"What?"

"Nothing just remembered now I belong to a family who are law abiding citizens rather than the other way around…"

Seth laughed again. "Well, as you've probably worked out…We're not perfect but what family is?"

Before she could reply, she felt a hand on her back and turned to see Marshall. "Can I cut in?"

"Of course…" Seth kissed Mary's cheek and leaned into her ear. "Remember, take care of my boy."

Mary smiled at him when he stepped back. "I will."

"What was that about?" Marshall questioned, once Seth had left.

"Nothing." She put her arms around his neck but the music suddenly stopped. "What's going on?"

Marshall frowned and looked towards the front and saw Danny stood in the stage. "I have no idea."

"Excuse me…" His nephew spoke into the microphone. "Hi, sorry to interrupt but there was something I wanted to say…"

Mary and Marshall looked at each in confusion before turning their attention back to Danny.

"Marshall is my uncle…and he's a pretty awesome guy." Danny told everyone, looking through the crowd until his eyes fell on Marshall. "And I owe him my life…"

Mary stepped closer to Marshall, squeezing his hand.

"You see, about a year ago, I made some mistakes and I got into a lot of trouble." Danny admitted. "But Uncle Marshall was there for me…He talked to me…Didn't treat me like a kid and he put his life in danger to protect me…He never gave up on me…"

There was a pause as Danny looked down to his feet, swallowing the lump in his throat before looking back up then smiled. "Mary is pretty cool too….I acted like a jerk when I first met her…then Uncle Marshall got hurt and he was more scared about her reaction then he was of the guys that did it…I was sure, she was going to kill ..."

Everyone laughed, knowingly even Mary.

"But she was great too…and I'm so glad they've finally got married…If anyone deserve to be happy then it's them." Danny continued then leaned down to pick up a guitar. "I heard a song a few weeks ago that reminded me of them, and I'd like to play it now…"

Marshall looked at Mary again. "Did you know about this?"

"No." She shook her head. "That's sweet of him….In a rom-com movie kind of way."

Marshall rolled his eyes and spun her, so she was facing him again, wrapping his arms around her.

As Danny started to play, Mary put her arms back around Marshall's neck. She knew everyone was now watching them but she didn't care.

It took a few seconds for Marshall to recognize the song – Rascal Flatts, Bless the Broken Road. He smiled and pulled Mary closer, holding her tightly.

"This much I know is true, that god blessed the broken road that led me straight to you…" Marshall sung along quietly into her ear.

"I don't know what's more annoying, when you recite Shakespeare or sing…" Mary joked.

He raised an eyebrow and continued to sing. "I think about the years I spent just passing through I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you..."

She pressed her lips against his and kissed him deeply, effectively shutting him up and causing the other guests to cheer.

They broke apart, she rolled her eyes when saw the stupid grin on his face. "…And

God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you."

"God, you're such a dork!"

"I know and you're stuck with me for life."

She paused for a moment, reaching up and stroking his cheek gently. "I could think of worst things."

This time it was Marshall who leaned down and kissed her.

"Hey, guys…If you can break it up for a moment, there is someone that wants to see you."

They pulled apart again at the sound of Brandi's voice and saw she was holding Jackson, who had lost his suit jacket and tie somewhere.

"Hey, buddy…" Marshall took him into his arms.

"Dada play?" He held up his toy car.

"How about we dance with Mama?" Marshall suggested, putting his free arm around his wife.

Jackson giggled when Marshall pulled Mary close to them and he put his head on her shoulder when she put both her arms around Marshall. Danny left the stage once he had finished the song and next one, Marshall didn't know but he didn't care. He was holding the two most important people in his life…that was what mattered. When he looked down, he saw Mary was deep in thought.

"Hey…" He said softly. "What you think about?"

"Nothing...Just something your Dad said…" She replied.

"What was that?"

"That no family is perfect…" She looked down at Jackson between them before back up to him. "But I don't know….this is pretty close."

Marshall smiled and kissed the top of her head. "It's perfect to me."

"Me too…" She whispered, laying her head down on his shoulder.

They stayed like that for two more songs, either of them paying attention to the lyrics or the tempo. They just swayed gently, all three of them together…Officially a family and Mary was finally starting believe in happily ever after.

**The End**

**Okay, so a nice fluffy chapter to finish! Again, thanks for reading, reviewing and adding your lists! **


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